KANSAS CITY, Kan. - With two-time KJCCC Player of the Week Tavian Tate held to just 10 points, Highland (13-6, 1-1 KJCCC) had to find production from elsewhere to hold off Kansas City Kansas Community College (11-10, 0-3 KJCCC) on Wednesday. DJ Thomas delivered, leading the Scotties with 18 points and a game-winning tip-in with two seconds on the clock.

Ta'veaion Washington and Jameson Fischer teamed up twice to give KCKCC an early 6-2 lead, with Fischer knocking down a pair from distance. 

Highland shrugged off the early burst, with a Tate layup sparking a 15-8 run for a 17-11 lead with 12:53 left in the first half.

The Scotties continued to extend their lead, finishing the first half shooting at a 55.6 percent (15-27) pace to take a 39-26 lead into the locker room.

After intermission, the Blue Devils started to key heavily on Tate, holding the sophomore to a single basket on just three attempts in the second half. KCKCC opened with a 17-point surge of its own, using a 17-5 run over an eight-minute stretch to pull within 44-43 with 10:35 left in the game.

A triple from Thomas pushed Highland back to a two-possession lead with just under nine minutes to go, but the Blue Devils managed to tie the game 55-55 and eke out a 55-59 lead with 1:41 to play.

Head coach Jon Oler called a timeout to settle his team's nerve and it worked perfectly. Colton Knoll knocked down back-to-back three pointers sandwiching a defensive stop for a two-point Scottie lead, but the Blue Devils managed to retie the game at 61-61 with a Matthew Williams layup.

After another Scotties timeout, Adriel Smith saw a lane develop and blew past a pair of KCKCC defenders but his layup attempt was just a touch strong off the glass and bounced off the front iron of the rim. Thomas was right on the spot, however, tapping the ball into the bucket.

With such a narrow margin, the officials immediately went to the review to confirm the exact moment that the clock should have stopped, but Knoll made the scrutiny moot as he stepped in front of KCKCC's hopeful pass out of the backcourt and held on to the final horn.

Highland finishes its three-game road jaunt on Saturday, traveling to Labette Community College. Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m.