Reid Berean had a career night.
He had a 20-20 day, scoring a game-high 21 points and grabbed 20 rebounds, 13 defensive, as he helped the Highland Huskies start the new year with a 58-32 win over the Chapel Field Lions in a non-league boys’ basketball game on Wednesday at Highland High School.

“This was just a very important game,” Berean said. “I came in really wanting to win this game, considering they beat us pretty bad last year, and is a really good team.”

The win did several things for the Huskies. It got them back to .500, setting their record at 3-3 and it got the new year off on the right foot.

“Hopefully we can just keep this momentum going,” Berean said. “I feel like everybody worked well, and we really needed this win to keep moving forward.”

The momentum started in the first quarter when the Huskies broke a 7-7 tie with 4:37 left in the first quarter, part of a 6-0 run that gave them a 13-7 lead. They would never trail again.

Jonah McDuffie, who led the Lions with 19 points, ended Highland’s run with a jump shot with 46 seconds left in the first quarter. However, Michael Forzano added a 3-pointer to give the Huskies a 16-9 lead after the first quarter.

“That helped a lot,” Highland coach Mike Milliman said. “You get an open shot, or you get a big lead, and it gives the kids confidence, and these guys need it. These guys are a fun group. They work hard. They got that lead and then they just built upon that, and it ended up being a nice win.”

The Huskies had an even stronger second quarter, outscoring the Lions 19-2, as they took a 35-11 halftime lead.

“They were a great offensive team,” Berean said. “We played very hard defense in their faces, and all over the ball. We played very close to them and limited the amount of times they could put the ball on the floor.”

Berean did most of his damage in the first half, scoring 15 of his 21 points before the break. In total, he scored 10 points off offensive rebounds.

“That’s just how Reid plays,” Milliman said.

“He loves the game of basketball. He’s going to score points. He’s going to take his fair share of shots. He goes to the hoop very strong.”

Leland Dubois led the Huskies in the second half, scoring nine of his 15 points.

The Lions, who entered the second half trailing by 24 points, started getting their offense going in the third quarter when McDuffie opened with a 3-point basket, and Mikey Bonagura followed with a jump shot.

After a basket by Josh Bishop, the Lions went on a 7-0 run to pull to within six points, prompting Milliman to call for a timeout.

“I wouldn’t say we were concerned,” Berean said. “Basketball is two-sided. They’re going get shots to fall and we’re going to get shots to fall. I feel like we weren’t very concerned, but it was a good offensive run by them.”

Dubois converted a three-point play out of the timeout, starting a 9-0 run that gave the Huskies a 48-23 lead.

Highland finished the week with a Mid Hudson Athletic League loss, 52-38, to the Rhinebeck Hawks.

“We talked about after game five how much are we going to improve, and after game 10, or how much do we improve every day,” Milliman said. “I think we improved every day. The kids are looking good.”