Highland continued its winning ways in the 2022-23 season on Tuesday. The Hawks reeled off their eight win in their last nine games with a decisive 62-45 triumph over host Red Mountain.

Led by a strong offensive first half from senior Noah Peterson, #6 Highland put #21 Red Mountain in a hole it couldn't overcome. Highland built a 29-17 lead at halftime. Peterson tallied a game-high 20 points (16 in the first half). Teammates Brock Knollmiller and Isaac Kaps took over the scoring duties in the second half. Kaps scored eight of his 11 points in the fourth quarter and Knollmiller all 10 of his points in the third and fourth quarters. 

The victory improved Highland to 15-2 overall and 8-1 in power-ranking games. Red Mountain (6-9, 5-3) saw its four-game, power-ranking game victory streak halted.

Peterson was nearly all of Highland's offense in the first quarter with 12 of the Hawks 15 points. Highland led 15-11 after one. Senior Hayden Winegar led Highland's scoring in the second quarter with all seven of his points. The Hawks limited Red Mountain to six points in the second period forging a double-digit lead.

Try as it might, Red Mountain couldn't make a substantial dent in the deficit in the third quarter. A productive second half from reserve Gage Lindsey (eight of his 10 points) kept the Mountain Lions close enough for a potential rally in the fourth. They trailed 47-36 to begin the fourth quarter, but got no closer than 10. Highland sealed the win with 7-0 run with 2:38 to play. The final basket of the run was a steal and dunk by Knollmiller.

The season shifts in most cases to strictly region games the rest of the season. Highland's first Central Region matchup is Friday at home against Queen Creek. Queen Creek dropped a 54-53 decision to Desert Ridge on Tuesday. Red Mountain has two East Valley region games this week. Both are on the road. They play Dobson on Thursday and Mesa on Friday.