By Garrett Hemmerich
WEST MILFORD – The Highlanders boys’ basketball team came away with a decisive victory over Lakeland Regional on Tuesday night, beating the Lancers 84-67.
West Milford started the game strong, out-scoring its opponent 16-8 in the first quarter before putting up another 31 points in the second.
Lakeland Regional was never able to recover.
The Highlanders had four players score in double figures for the game, with senior guard Josiah Basket leading the way with 27 points.
Going into Tuesday night, West Milford was coming off a big win against Manchester Regional on Feb. 2, in which the Highlanders beat the Falcons by a final score of 90-52.
After going into the half with a 25-point lead, the Highlanders continued their dominance in the third quarter, outscoring Manchester Regional 29-4.
The team had four players score in double figures in that game as well, with Basket leading the way once again with his 21 points.
Kevin DeRaffele (17), Chris Gomez (14), and Jack Vreeland (11) were the other players to join Basket in scoring in the double figures.
Gomez continued to fill out the stat sheet, tallying seven assists, two steals, and a team-leading seven rebounds as well.
That victory, unfortunately, followed a Jan. 31 loss to Clifton, the team’s first since Jan. 8, after going on a six-game winning streak.
It was a close contest, but a late 7-0 run by the Highlanders wasn’t enough to defeat the Mustangs, who won by a final score of 55-51.
West Milford (12-5) is scheduled to travel to Passaic Valley next to play the Hornets on Feb. 7.