Highland outlasts rival Pocatello in front of massive crowd

POCATELLO — Playing in a gym packed to the gills, split down the middle with fans from either team, the Highland Rams and Pocatello Thunder rose to the experience of a “dream” high school hoop atmosphere.

The energy from Friday night’s massive crowd rolled with every intense ebb and flow in a back-and-forth battle: student sections throwing barbs at each other with choreographed call-and-response cheers, and crowd noise so loud it drowned out officials’ whistles and coaches’ screams.

“For my kids, they’ll never forget this night,” Highland head coach Matt Stucki said after the game. “It was pretty cool — you get a whole town packed in, it’s standing room only; it feels like it’s 130 degrees in there; you can’t hear the coaches, everything is hand signals. It’s a dream atmosphere.”

The Highland student section reacts as their Rams' starters are introduced. The Poky student section stands with its backs turned for the announcements. #idpreps pic.twitter.com/wz7WdniAxg

— Kalama Hines (@HINESight_2020) December 20, 2025

The Rams (5-1, 0-0) had to overcome a strong start from the Thunder (3-5, 0-0) and several Pocatello surges, along with the coinciding energy swings from the crowd, for a 64-56 come-from-behind win.

Colton Stucki, Matt’s son and starting center, said that playing for a crowd like the one at Highland High School made the game all the more fun.

“The Poky student section, the Highland student section, they were really loud,” Colton said. “It was fun playing in that environment, with my teammates, against that really good team in Poky.”

Highland had to stem the tide early as Pocatello scored the game’s first six points, all of which coming from senior Hunter Cordell, getting the huge Poky crowd to full voice in the opening minute.

After the game, Matt said that among his focuses for the Rams is dealing with the big emotional plays. The key he preaches is speeding things up in an attempt to prevent the opposition from capitalizing on the momentum of a run, or a big 3-pointer or, like Friday, the eruption from a thunderous dunk.

“We run that stuff through practice, we try to mimic that stuff, and they bought into it,” he said. “They did a good job, they did it really well.”

Highland answered the Thunder’s quick start with an eight-point run of their own, using a block from Colton and two steals from senior Boston McCulloch to create transition points.

But those were far from the only runs of the night.

By the time the first quarter came to an end, the game had seed five lead changes and three ties.

Pocatello, led by Cordell, and the Rams, led by senior Raphael Njoku and junior Cedric Mitchell, battled back and forth for 16 minutes, with Mitchell connecting through contact on a layup at the second quarter buzzer to bring Highland within two points, down 33-31 at halftime.

The night’s first real separation came near the midway point of the third quarter, when the Thunder scored seven straight, including a 3-pointer from Cordell, to grab a 42-37 advantage.

Matt said that he was “really proud” of the resolve his team showed through the adversity, continuing to battle back.

“Against a crosstown rival who is very physical — a well-coached team with great players — there was a lot of runs,” he said. “At any of those times, anyone can quit. And credit to (Pocatello) as well, no one quit on either team. Just a testament to how hard these kids have worked. I’m really proud of them.”

The Rams’ answer, as it had come all night, was from all directions, with three different players contributing to Highland’s nine-point run ending the third quarter. An exclamation point was put on the run by Colton, whose 3-pointer with mere seconds left on the clock gave his team a 49-45 lead heading into the fourth.

He said, after the game, that it gives him a confidence boost when his teammates trust him to take the big shots down the stretch.

“It was great to hit those shots when we needed it most,” he said.

At 6-foot-6, Colton spends most of his time on both ends of the court, in or around the paint. But his ability to connect from deep adds a dimension to the Highland offense, Matt said.

“He’s got a unique ability to stretch the defense,” the coach explained. “They put bigger guys on him, because he’s taller, and sometimes they get stuck in the paint, and he has the ability to stretch the defense with his shooting. He hit some really big shots down the stretch that really opened it up for us.”

Poky tried to cobble together another run in the fourth, but Highland’s depth was too much. Six different Rams finished the game with five or more points, led by McCulloch’s 12. Njoku and Mitchell scored 11 apiece, while Colton scored nine to go with 11 rebounds and seven blocks.

Highland’s depth, Matt said, has and will continue to be a key for the Rams.

“On any given night, any person can be the guy,” he said.

The Thunder were paced by Cordell, who finished with nine boards and a game-high 20 points.

Both teams will now take some time off for the holiday break. Matt said that the game was especially important because it determined which of the teams would go into the “much-needed” “little break” on a high, and which would go into it on a low.

The Rams will look to come out of their break on Dec. 29, as part of the East Idaho Holiday Shootout, looking to keep their current high.

Pocatello does not play again until Jan. 6, when they host the Madison Bobcats.