The Higbee boys turned a three-point advantage in the first quarter into a double-digit halftime lead en route to a dominating 74-42 conference win on Friday over Northwestern (Mendon). The Courtwarming victory improved the Tigers’ overall record to 10-3 this season and sets them up for a strong seeding in the Carroll-Livingston Activities Association tournament next month.

“I was really proud of the kids and how they came out to play. Defending your home court in conference is really important,” said Higbee coach Tanner Burton.

Higbee was without two seniors for Friday’s game. Ayden Jennings is sidelined with an injury, and Landon Tuggle, who was named Courtwarming King between games, was home sick for the big night.

The Tigers opened the game with a six-point run, sparked by a 3-point shot by junior Danny Janssen just nine seconds after tipoff. But Northwest kept the game close, tying the score at 8-8 with a 3-pointer by Dyllan Cort before taking a lead with another triple, this time by freshman Hudson Harms with 1:57 left to play. It would be the Eagles’ final score of the period as Higbee rallied with six straight points to finish ahead 14-11 after eight minutes.

The Tigers then opened the second quarter with 10 straight points for a 16-0 run beginning at the end of the first and extending over the first half of the second period. Janssen scored 11 straight points for Higbee, which included three shots from the arc. He then made a steal and layup with 2:42 left in the half to put the Tigers firmly in control with a 12-point advantage.

By halftime, Higbee led 35-21. But despite the double-digit lead, the game still felt close. And a lapse on defense by Higbee could have swung the momentum in the third quarter.

“Coming out of halftime I told him the expectation was that the first four minutes were the most important. And they came out and executed. We just played good basketball,” Burton said.

The Tigers scored four quick points before both teams traded 3-point buckets. From there, Higbee and the Eagles exchanged blows for the next five minutes. But in the final 1:50 of the quarter, Higbee pulled away with a 13-4 run to all but put the game away.

“I thought the kids worked really hard on defense,” Burton said. “We had some tweaks. There were some weaknesses early that we saw. We rotated some people around. We rotated Aaron [Welch] up top. He’d been playing the wing for a while now. And we moved Danny [Janssen] down. That gave us some length down there and prevented them from getting any of their interior looks. We were able to cover the 3-point. The defense stepped up, and they worked hard. And they wore the other team down.”

The Tigers outscored Mendon 12-5, allowing just two field goals in the fourth quarter to win by a 32-point margin.

Janssen led the way with a game-high 29 points with five 3-point buckets and perfect 4-for-4 shooting from the line. He also pulled down six rebounds.

“He can score,” Burton said after the game about his shooting leader. “He’s had big games against big teams. Tonight, you saw him step up, and it created a lot of defensive twists. They did a box-and-one. They shifted their defense around. They tried a lot of different things to stop him, and he kept finding ways to execute. He finished strong. And his teammates stepped up.”

Sophomore Cale Nelson finished with 14 points, with six rebounds, and six assists. Junior Celton Crawford posted the team’s only double-double with 11 points and 10 boards. Junior Aaron Welch added nine points.

“Celton Crawford has just been a man. In his last couple of games he averaged around 20 points a game. Tonight, he was consistent. He got in there and owned the glass. He worked hard and scored inside,” Burton said. “Cale stepped up. He saw some lanes to attack and did a really nice job of taking care of the basketball.

“If we have three or four kids around 10 points, we’re going to be very hard to beat,” added Burton. “For a lot of these kids, this is their first varsity experience. They’re executing in big varsity games and they’re making sure it works. The future is bright, and they have to keep working hard to make sure we’re successful.”

For Northwestern, Cort, and sophomore Tyler Robinson paced the Eagles with 12 points each. Senior Cooper Reckamp added 11 points.

Higbee owned the boards against Northwestern. The Tigers outrebounded the Eagles 34-25.

“That was huge. That’s the reason we were successful. Northwestern has competed in many games and won close games due to winning the rebound margin,” Burton said.

The Tigers returned to their home court Saturday afternoon to soundly defeat Breckenridge 93-41 and improve to 11-3 overall and 6-1 in the CLAA. Ten players scored, led by Nelson with a career-high 21 points. The sophomore sank a career-best five 3-point shots in around 15 minutes of court time. Janssen again led Higbee with 24 points.

They capped their three-game home stand with a conference game against Hardin-Central Tuesday night after the Advertiser went to press. On Saturday, Higbee faces Class 3 Stover at Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly. The Tigers enter the Keytesville Tournament next week as the No. 1 seed. They face host team Keytesville at 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday, January 28.