Highland pulls ahead late, claiming the 6A D4-5-6 championship and state berth

POCATELLO — Junior Stockton Moore pumped his fist three times and let out a scream as his layup slid home. By escaping Rigby’s inbound pressure and finishing through contact, Moore had given his Highland Rams a six-point lead with 44 seconds left — more than enough insurance to claim the 6A District 4-5-6 championship and a spot in next week’s state tournament.

Moore missed the and-one free throw. The Rams didn’t need it, though, beating Rigby, 51-43, at Highland High School and triggering a minutes-long celebration from the student section.

The six-point advantage was one point shy of matching the largest lead either team had held to that point.

A back-and-forth battle that featured 14 lead changes was decided by an 8-0 run by the Rams, that began with a Tracen Tripple 3-pointer to end the third quarter and included a Colton Stucki 3 and Cedric Mitchell layup to start the fourth.

The Rams surge slightly outmatched a 7-0 run from Rigby to end the first half with a 25-24 advantage.

Highland led most of the first half behind a hot shooting start from junior Tanner Hunt, who hit three 3-pointers to finish with 11 points — all in before halftime.

Moore, Stucki and Mitchell took over in the second half. Moore finished the game with eight points, two rebounds and a steal. Stucki added eight points, three rebounds and two blocks. And Mitchell was a defensive terror, chipping in nine points, three rebounds and four steals.

The Trojans dominated the rebounding battle, led by senior Weston Walker, who grabbed nine boards to go with 10 points, one block and one steal. Senior Jack Hurley added eight rebounds to go with seven points and a steal.

Rigby sophomore Jacob Love led all scorers with 12 points.

Highland, currently ranked 9th among 6A teams across the state by MaxPreps — which is used for state seeding — will likely receive a low ranking, despite the district championship.

Rigby can still earn the D4-5-6 second-place state bid, with a victory over the Riverhawks at Canyon Ridge High School Thursday. Canyon Ridge earned its spot in the second-place showdown by beating Thunder Ridge Tuesday night.