Extra possessions proved costly as the Highland Huskies boys’ basketball team (19-5) had their season come to an end in the substate championship game Saturday night. As heard on AM/FM KCII and KCIIRadio.com, the Huskies traveled to Oskaloosa High School for the Class 2A Substate 5 contest versus the Pella Christian Eagles (20-4). The Eagles collected 29 offensive rebounds on their way to a 72-33 victory.

Pella Christian jumped out to a 19-9 first quarter lead and held a 38-17 advantage heading into halftime. The Eagles outscored the Huskies, 34-16, in the second half. David Kacmarynski recorded a double-double, 19 points, and 14 rebounds, to help the Eagles to victory. Highland’s Trent Lasek and Chase Rath scored nine points each in their final high school basketball game. Zach Lasek added five points.

The loss ends Highland’s season at 19-5 overall, a three-win improvement from last year. The Huskies lose Jake Wood, Bill Burton, Bryce Clark, Riley Greicen, Chase Rath, Trent Lasek, and Spencer Arnold to graduation.