WILLIAMSTON — The first play of Jaylen Hicks’ varsity debut was, to be honest, forgettablre.
“the first play, I threw it out of bounds,” the junior point guard said. “The nerves kind of got to me but I adapted, and the game came to me after that.”
It certainly did
Hicks scored 26 points, 14 in the fourth quarter, as the Highlanders handed Williamston its first loss since 2021, 64-49. in the season opener at Williamston High School.
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Logan Leppek added a career high 20 for the Highlanders, who overcome a 8-0 early deficit to win going away.
The Hornets went 27-0 last season en route to winning the state championship in Division 2.
“They came out shooting hot,” Howell coach Nick Simon said, “but our message was to stay with the game plan. Our motto is ‘Embrace the struggle.’ We’re going to make mistakes. They’re going to hit shots. We’re going to be down at some point. We just have to keep doing our thing, and our guys did a really good job of that.
Howell finished the first half with an 8-0 run of its own to take a 32-31 lead at halftime. The teams traded the lead in the third quarter, before Hicks and Leppek sparked a fourth-quarter rally that put the game out of reach.
Leppek was a force inside for the Highlanders, and his ability to score opened things up for Hicks on offense.
“He does a great job with his footwork down low, and I thought he really improved this year , in getting right to the rim instead of settling for decent shots, Simon said. “He got great shots at the end. He’s our leader and our captain and I thought he played like it.”
The game was the second game of a varsity doubleheader.
In the opener, the Howell girls also fell into an 8-0 hole to start the game, and while they got close a couple of times, Williamston held off the Highlanders, 45-39.
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The Highlanders struggled from the floor, missing their final eightshots after getting to within three, 42-39, early in the fourth quarter.
“I think it was kind of us,” junior forward Alexis Le said. “We played as a team, but we didn’t play up to the best of our advantages.”
An off night shooting didn’t help, either.
Sophie Daugard led the Highlanders with 14 points, while Allison Farr added 12. Both teams are 2-1 overall.
The Howell girls play host to Birmingham Marian on Friday, while the boys travel to Chelsea.
