KEARNEY — Even in its closest game of the Mr. Basketball Invitational, High 5 East made things look easy.

The team made up of players from the Lincoln and Omaha areas trailed just once and went on a 9-0 run early in the game on its way to a 64-56 win over the Northwest Arkansas Raptors in the Mr. Basketball Invitational Championship Sunday at the University of Nebraska at Kearney’s Health and Sports Center.

“With the prestige and history of this tournament, we really wanted to win it,” High 5 coach Neil Harris said. “It’s a long spring and summer for us, so it’s nice to come here and win.”

High 5 etched its name on the Mr. Basketball trophy by using its size advantage to shoot a smooth 63 percent from the field and outrebound Northwest Arkansas by 21 (33-12).

Six-foot-eight Pete Reynolds of Blair led High 5 with 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Six-foot-4 Aaron Brandt of Bishop Neumann added 14, 6-foot-6 Scott Neuhalfen of Blair had 13 and 6-foot-2 Kendall Frantz of Lincoln East had 10.

High 5 East averaged almost 80 points a game and won each of its previous seven games in the tournament by double digits, but found itself down 8-7 to a pesky Northwest Arkansas team early in the game after Craig Watters’ second straight three-pointer.

But High 5 responded with a 9-0 run, getting seven straight points from Reynolds and Neuhalfen and a bucket from Brandt. High 5 led by as many as 13 the rest of the way and Northwest Arkansas could get no closer than five points after an 8-0 run late in the game.

“Our balance is a strength of our team,” Harris said. “We have a lot of outstanding players, but they really depend on each other. They all work well together.”

Northwest Arkansas, which knocked off the Kearney Cats in the first round of the tournament, was led by Watters’ game-high 17 points. Watters hit five of his first six three-point attempts. Kyle Moix added 10 points for the Raptors.

HIGH 5 EAST 64, NW ARKANSAS RAPTORS 56

Score By Halves
HIGH 5 EAST 37 27 — 64
NW ARKANSAS 29 27 — 56

HIGH 5 EAST — Richard Marion 1-2 0-0 2, Scott Neuhalfen 6-8 0-2 13, Kendall Frantz 4-8 1-2 10, Matt Newman 1-2 0-0 2, Bristen Kelley 1-2 3-4 5, Aaron Brandt 5-10 2-3 14, Pete Reynolds 7-8 2-2 16, Mitch Mohr 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 26-41 8-13 64.

NW ARKANSAS — Tanner Horn 1-1 2-2 4, Trevor Logan 1-4 0-1 3, Austin Chapman 0-1 0-0 0, Daniel Hurst 3-5 2-2 9, Craig Watters 5-12 2-2 17, Brian Garner 0-5 0-2 0, Kane Moix 1-4 2-2 4, David Kline 1-2 0-0 2, Kyle Moix 4-6 1-1 10, Matt Ragsdale 2-6 1-2 5, John Michael Davis 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 19-49 10-14 56.

Three-point goals — High 5 East 4-12 (Brandt 2-7, Frantz 1-3, Neuhalfen 1-2). NW Arkansas 8-21 (Watters 5-9, Hurst 1-3, Kyle Moix 1-3, Logan 1-2, Chapman 0-1, Garner 0-1, Davis 0-2).