KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Despite a career-high 39 points from Tavian Tate, Highland (9-5) opened the season on the wrong side of the ledger, falling 100-86 to Metropolitan Community College - Kansas City (6-11) on Monday. Tate was a perfect 12-of-12 from the free throw line for the Scotties, with Colton Knoll (15 pts) and Jaden Williams (11 pts) also finishing in double digits.

Tate got the Scotties on the board first with a three-pointer from a Miguel Villegas assist, with an intense back-and-forth battle taking place over the opening five minutes. Villegas tied the game at 10-10 with a three-pointer at 16:01 with Adriel Smith answering an MCCKC three with a driving basket with 15:25 on the clock.

Metropolitan was able to take advantage of a brief hot streak and extend to a 21-12 lead over the next three minutes, pushing as far as a 16-point lead before HCC closed the gap back to nine.

Trailing 46-37 coming out of halftime, Knoll and Tate each connected on their first shots of the second half to bring Highland within two possessions, but a 13-6 run gave Metropolitan a 62-48 lead with 14:55 left.

A bit of additional exuberance from Kobe Johnson on the run-finishing dunk sent Tate to the line for a single technical free throw, with the sophomore turning the make into the front end of an unconventional four-point play for Highland. The Scotties managed to close to a 75-68 deficit with 7:38 left, but couldn't finish the comeback effort.

Highland returns to Ben Allen Field House on Wednesday, taking on St. Louis Community College in the first doubleheader of the 2025-26 season. The men's contest is slated for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff, following a 5:30 women's game.