The Mighty Highlanders continued their undefeated record Tuesday, Dec. 11, adding their fifth win 77-62 against the West Bend East Suns.

The Highlanders started off strong, winning the tip-off and finishing the first possession with 2 points from Ryan Waddell, senior.

The game continued to flow in the direction for the boys as they grabbed defensive rebounds and outran the Suns. Michael Kennedy, senior, credits the win to their hard work and athleticism. “We hustled, and we worked harder than them. And we’re in a lot better shape, so that led to us being able to just keep cruising,” Kennedy said.

With just over 6 minutes left in the first half, Homestead led by nearly 10 points as Declan Ciurlik, junior, took it to the hoop for an ‘and 1’ extending the lead 23-12. Ciurlik scored 31 points in the game, but doesn’t let his great performance affect him, “Scoring just comes in the flow of the game; all I care about is our team winning. If I have a good night, that’s great, and if I don’t and we win, it’s just the same,” Ciurlik said.

After a few turnovers and fouls, West Bend East narrowed the gap by hitting some 3-pointers. “They were killing us on the three-point line, so [Coach Sean Crider] expected us to step up,” Ethan Kelly, junior, said.

By halftime, the score was 30-28, Homestead leading by  two points.  “Coach said we had to foul less and move our feet on D[efense],” Kennedy said, which the team was able to do in the second half.

At halftime, Crider stressed coming out with intensity. “We just wanted to come out with some energy and build up the lead we had in the first half,” Waddell said.

Coach Crider’s message got through to the players, after just 3 minutes into the second half the boys scored 10 points expanding the lead, 40-31. “With that energy, it translated into the second half and we were able to make a run to start the half, which really set the tone for the rest of the game,” Ciurlik said.

After this run, the boys continued to push and with 9 minutes left in the game, after a steal from Michael Morway, senior, translated into a layup for Kennedy, the Suns trailed by 19 points.

The momentum carried through for the rest of the game, and as Ethan Endres, junior, Morway, Ciurlik, Kelly, and Waddell, were able to steal and defend, and then finish on the offensive end, the final score was 77-62.

Despite a perfect season so far, the team still has room for improvement. Both Kelly and Waddell agree that pushing to play hard throughout the entire game is a focus moving forward. “I think we will need to come out and play with more consistent energy throughout both halves to prevent lapses offensively and defensively that can make teams stay in the game,” Waddell

“We need to keep up the intensity throughout the game. There were some points that we let our foot off the gas, and that won’t fly when we start to play against harder competitors,” Kelly added.

However, the connection among teammates has helped the team to victory. “We’ve been playing pretty good, we’ve been playing as a team, and our chemistry has been great,” Kennedy said.

Ciurlik also sees a positive future of the team, based on the natural chemistry of the roster. “We’re moving the ball really well, which is good to see at the start of the season because if our offense is there at the start, everything will keep getting better and better, and our defense has been there which is even better. I love playing basketball, so being out on the court with the guys is great.”