The Highline men’s basketball team broke their two-game losing streak, racking up wins against Green River on Wednesday and Lower Columbia on Saturday.

The Thunderbirds beat Green River 89-76 and defeated Lower Columbia 84-70. 

“Winning always feels better. Our guys are incredibly capable. They just have to have a sense of urgency about getting things done and have the discipline to get the job done,” said Head Coach Che Dawson.

Against Green River, the T-Birds got off to a slow start, trailing the Gators 43-33 at half. Guard Kenny Curtis led the team in first-half scoring with 11 points on 4-7 shooting. Guard Micah Jessie pitched in nine points on 4-6 shooting.

However, Highline came out firing in the second half, outscoring the Gators 56-33 in the period on 20-35 shooting. 

The Thunderbirds ended the game with five players scoring in double digits, including Bradley Graham with 16, Jessie with 15, forward Jalen Fayson with 15, Curtis with 15, and forward Tyrell Moore with 13. 

“We have been sharing and moving the ball much better,” said Dawson. 

For example, on one play Moore grabbed a rebound and tossed it to Curtis, Curtis then threw an outlet pass to Fayson, which led to a monstrous alley oop connection to Jessie.

Against Lower Columbia, it was a similar story.

Highline trailed 32-30 at half, but rallied and closed out the game on fire, outscoring the Devils 54-38

Four players scored in double figures, including Graham with 16, Fayson with 16, Jessie with 14, Curtis and Moore with 10 each. 

The biggest standout in this game was defense. The T-Birds held the Devils to 38.4 percent shooting from the field, and 17.4 percent shooting from three-point range. 

The Thunderbirds also caused the Devils to rack up 18 turnovers, and scored 29 of their 84 points off of them.

“Pride. Playing good defense starts with caring about playing good defense. Only then can we talk about strategy, technique, effort, etc.,” said Dawson.

At 3-2 in conference play, Highline is tied with Pierce for third place in the NWAC West. The T-Birds are 6-12 overall. 

Highline started a road trip against the 3-2 Pierce College Raiders on Wednesday, with results unavailable at press time.

“Pierce and Centralia are both going to play really hard, especially on their home court. We have to have a war mentality on the road,” said Dawson. 

The next time they take the court will be on the road against the 1-4 Centralia Trailblazers on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. and at home against South Puget Sound on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.