Higbee coach Tanner Burton is now the winningest boys’ coach in school history, thanks to a 73-43 Tigers victory over Bevier in their non-conference home opener Monday night.

The win came even as the Tigers opened with a cold start after having nine days off between games. Higbee’s last game was a 70-50 win on Dec. 6 against Bucklin for third place in the Northwestern Invitational.

The Tigers trailed early on Monday after missing a series of baskets from all areas of the court. Nothing fell from the arc, the paint, or even the free-throw line.

Luckily for Higbee, the Wildcats weren’t sinking much either, although Bevier was able to take a 5-2 lead on a 3-pointer by sophomore Zev Mason, just 96 seconds into the game.

After trading leads, Higbee pulled ahead for good with 3:18 left in the opening quarter with two points from junior Aaron Welch. But Bevier kept the game exciting, sinking a 3-pointer at the buzzer to pull within one point, 11-10, after eight minutes.

The Tigers found their footing in the second quarter, greatly expanding their one-point lead to go up 37-17 at halftime.

“We shot very poorly from the outside. But I thought our guys did a nice job of adjusting and getting to the basket,” Burton said. “Tonight, I thought we did a good job of playing downhill. I thought the kids did a nice job of battling through it.”

Welch caught fire in the second quarter, scoring 12 of his game-high 27 points to send his team into the mid-game break up by 20.

“I kept telling him, they can’t stop you. Finally, he showed that they couldn’t stop him. I was really proud of his effort tonight,” Burton said.

Bevier outscored Higbee by three points in the third quarter, but it did little to put a dent in the Tigers’ lead. Higbee cruised to a 30-point victory.

In total, seven Higbee players entered the scorebook. Behind Welch’s team-best 27, senior returning All-Stater Danny Janssen and junior Cale Nelson scored 14 each. Janssen sank two of Higbee’s five 3-point shots.

“Cale and Danny did their things,” Burton said. “Cale has become very consistent for us. And that’s huge. Danny is still finding his groove, but he’s everybody’s number one. It opens the door for others to step in and step up.”

Freshman Corbin Imhoff added eight points off the bench and sank a three during the Tigers’ 26-7 run in the second quarter. Juniors Hunter Dougherty and Xavier Gabing added four each, with senior Celton Crawford posting two points on the night.

Monday’s home opener was the first of only seven home games for the Tigers this year. Higbee was due to make a conference road trip Tuesday night against Norborne after the Advertiser went to press. How well his team performs then would tell a lot about how much of a factor those nine days off turned out to be in Monday’s slow start.

“We play tomorrow night, so we’ll find out if that had an impact or not,” Burton added. “We’ve done a very poor job of starting basketball games this year. We come out flat and cold. They’ve become more stagnant and stiff and tense. When they’re loose and just playing basketball, they play really well.”

From there, Higbee plays four neutral-site games around the state. The first is against Class 3 Lone Jack on Dec. 22 for the 12 Courts of Christmas at Hy-Vee Arena in Kansas City. On Dec. 30, Higbee is closer to home at the Peak Sport & Spine Shootout at Moberly Area Community College. The Tigers will tipoff against Class 3 Highland, winless so far this season at 0-3.

Higbee opens 2026 with a morning game against North Andrew (4-1), a Class 1 team that won a district championship a year ago. The 11:30 a.m. game will be played at the St. Joseph Sports Commission Winter High School Basketball Showcase. The following day, the Tigers head in the opposite direction to face Weaubleau, another 0-3 winless team, at the Tipton Latham Bank Shootout.

“You have to play well in front of your fans to get them to travel two hours to watch you play in Kansas City and St. Joseph. We have to make sure we win here,” Burton said about making a statement in Monday’s home opener.

Four of Higbee’s remaining six home games come over two weeks in the first half of January. The first is against Tina-Avalon on Jan. 6. The last is against Class 3 Centralia on Jan. 14. Other neutral site games this season include the Mid-Missouri Invitational at Harrisburg against Bunker, the Show-Me Classics at Southwest Baptist against Buffalo, and the CLAA Tournament starting Feb. 7 at Tina-Avalon.