Before the game had even tipped off Friday night at Highland High School, the Rams put two points on the board thanks to a technical foul against Sky View (Utah) during warm-ups.

    Senior Austin Andreasen knocked down both free throws, notching the first points of what turned out to be many on the evening.

    But Highland didn’t have enough in the end, blowing what felt like a comfortable lead, and Sky View prevailed 69-57.

    “I thought early we played well,” said Highland head coach Chris Frost, whose team dropped its opening game of the season. “Kevin Birch shot the ball well and I thought everybody did as well. Stefan (Gonzalez) coming off the bench did a great job sparking us. Everyone had a good portion, we just didn’t play as a team at the end.”

    The Rams led the Bobcats 18-14 at the end of the first quarter and 35-28 at the half.

    But Sky View, led by 6-foot-8 senior Jalen Moore, came out of the locker room on fire from the field, which led to solid defensive effort and ultimately a victory.

    Moore scored a game-high 24 points with baskets coming in a variety of different ways. He dunked, hit 3-pointers and got to the free throw line. Ty Nielsen added 17 for the Bobcats.

    “We (didn’t know much about Sky View), just Moore and Nielsen,” Frost said. “They’re good players and we knew that. We just didn’t do a good job. We hold them to 28 points in the first half and then we gave up 70? That’s too many. We didn’t execute. That was the biggest thing. We got kind of panicky and just kind of fell asleep.”

    Frost said the biggest issue for his team was a lack of patience on the offensive end.

    “I just thought we were very undisciplined,” he said. “When we went in at halftime we were talking about how they were taking 30 seconds to shoot and we were taking about two.

    “Quick shots, when they’re going they’re fine, but when they’re not it’s not very fun. So we spent more time on defense than we did on offense. That’s what fatigues you and makes you tired.”

    Senior Austin Andreasen led the way for Highland with 14 points. Gonzalez and senior Kevin Birch added 13 apiece while senior Clark Wilkinson had eight.

    But the Rams couldn’t muster enough baskets in the final two quarters as Sky View limited them to one shot each possession by cleaning up the boards. That led to the Bobcats scoring 41 second-half points to the Rams’ 22.

    “They’re pretty athletic. We don’t see that kind of athleticism and that kind of length in Idaho,” Frost said. “But we have to get better, and that’s why we play those teams. It makes us better.”

    This being the first contest of the 2012-2013 season, Frost knows his team will improve.

    “We’re going to be all right, we’re going to be a good basketball team,” he said. “We just have to get them rolling. This game had no meaning, but I thought we had it in control and I thought we had it won. We kind of gave it away.”

    That starts for the Rams (0-1) on Tuesday when they host city rival Century.

    “We’ve just got to get ready to come out and play,” Frost said. “We’re going to be all right.”

    Tipoff between Highland and Century is at 7:30 p.m.