The Cloudland Highlanders took advantage of a well-rounded attack to take a 77-63 win over Unicoi Tuesday in Roan Mountain.

“The kids played really well,” said Cloudland head coach Gary Harrison. “We have been improving a little bit. Tonight, we stepped it up. We still didn’t quite play four quarters, but we are getting closer to it. Everybody’s effort is where we needed it to be.

“Unicoi is so well coached and they have such great talent,” added Harrison. “They are one of the favorites to win their league. This was a big win for our kids.”

The Highlanders are now 5-2 on the season.

First Quarter

The Highlanders grabbed a 8-5 lead after a 3-pointer from Cloudland’s Dillion Johnson. Cloudland’s Blake Beam followed up with five straight points to give the ’Landers an early 12-7 edge. The Blue Devils answered with a 10-2 run to climb ahead 19-14 before Cloudland’s Jordan Coffey and Blake Beam connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Highlanders a 20-19 lead after one.

Second Quarter

The teams fought to a 26-26 tie early in the second quarter before Cloudland’s Josh Blair hit a trey to move his team ahead 29-26. With 2:56 left in the half, Unicoi pushed ahead 33-31 before Cloudland’s Hunter Shell hit a 3-pointer to give the ’Landers a one-point edge. In the final minute, Cloudland’s Robert Leeper converted on a bucket-and-1 to help the Highlanders take a 41-39 heading into the half.

Third Quarter

The Highlanders rallied for 14-straight points in the third to move ahead 57-45 with 4:17 left in the quarter. Leeper had 12 points for the Highlanders in the third as Cloudland took a 77-63 lead into the fourth.

Fourth Quarter

The Highlanders kept rolling in the fourth as they outpaced Unicoi 16-8. After an eight-point run, the Highlanders took a 74-59 lead before keeping the Blue Devils at bay down the stretch.

Beam had eight points for the Highlanders in the final period.

For Cloudland, Leeper finished a game-high with 20 points while Beam posted 17. Johnson finished the game with 10 point and three treys.