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Connor Harding scored 14 points and pulled down 11 rebounds as the Highland Rams overcame a slow start to win the 5A Real Dairy Shootout championship by defeating rival Madison, 65-55, in front of an estimated crowd of 10,000 fans at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
Mason Baker led Highland with 19 points despite spending much of the second half on the bench in foul trouble. Josh Crane had 16 points and eight assists for Madison.
The Bobcats opened the game on a 10-2 run and led, 14-6, after one period but Highland turned it around in the second quarter with a 16-2 run of its own to take a 26-21 lead at halftime. Cameron Cook's three pointer on the opening possession of the fourth quarter stretched the Rams' lead to ten, 41-31, and Madison could not get closer than five points the rest of the way.
It was Highland's first state championship team in boys basketball since 1996, a team also coached by current Rams head coach Chris Frost.
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