HIGHLAND, Kan. - After a slow start, Highland (8-2) found its footing and rocketed past Kansas Christian College in a 134-54 win on Tuesday. Tavian Tate led all scorers in the game with 24 points and DJ Thomas quietly assembled a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double for the Scotties.

After winning the opening tip, Kansas Christian immediately found a three-pointer from the hands of Desmond Menil, then capitalized on a Highland turnover with an easy layup for Sam Dubinsky. Tate knocked down a second-chance triple to put the Scotties on the board, but it was the only make in the first five attempts for the home team as KCC took an early 7-3 lead.

Highland found its shooting touch, tying the game at 7-7 after Miguel Villegas picked Dubinsky's pocket after a Tate layup and Colton Knoll scored on the follow-up to a driving attempt by Adriel Smith. Knoll returned the favor to Smith on the next possession, swiping the ball from Da'Shawn Flowers and feeding Smith on the break to put Highland up by two and force a KCC timeout with 16:44 in the half.

Flowers knocked down a second-chance three-pointer for the Falcons out of the timeout, but it would be the last lead of the contest for Kansas Christian as Takeo Moore knocked down a pair of free throws to start a 20-3 Highland run stretching to the 11-minute mark.

Highland clamped down on defense, turning a 29-13 lead with 11:07 left in the first half into a 75-23 halftime margin. The Scotties connected at an 18-of-26 pace to close out the opening 20 minutes, holding Kansas Christian to just 4-of-20 shooting over the same stretch.

The second half was much of the same, as Highland connected at a 61.54 pct (24-39) from the floor and held Kansas Christian to a 28.21 pct (11-39) pace. The Scotties coasted past the century mark with 12:02 left in the game, also matching a 59-year-old program scoring record - Highland defeated Wentworth Military Academy 134-52 on Feb. 8, 1967 - in the win.

Highland is on the road looking for a season sweep of Div. I Southeast Community College on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.