When the Highland boys' basketball team took to the court against Bountiful last Friday, it must have looked pretty foreign to the home fans.

After all, the team sent out only one original starter for the tipoff.

Point guard Sam Orchard stood on the court surrounded by stand-ins and role players forced to become the main attraction by injury and suspension to teammates. The Rams lost the game 44-42 but the game helped show coach Keith West he has talent beyond his starting rotation.

Highland lost Chris Lloyd after the third game of the season to a knee injury. Two games later, Matt Barker also went down due to a knee injury. Both are out for the season. But Alex Fatzinger-Bruce and Lew Evans have stepped in to fill the void.

West knows he's missing some experience but that can be earned over the course of the season.

"We've actually been OK," West said. "Chris has some senior leadership and that's hard to replace. As far as skill level, the kids are pretty comparable."

Highland had won two of three before a Jan. 5 meeting with the West High Panthers.

The game was tight late when West's Gatete Djuma grabbed a rebound and pivoted with his elbows extended. His left elbow swung right into the side of Highland forward Nate Fakafahua's head, sending him to the ground. Fakafahua sprung back to his feet and confronted Djuma by pushing him. Soon Djuma took a swing and a skirmish ensued. Both benches cleared and players wrestled around and pushed back and forth.

At one time, a presumed Highland fan raced onto the court and landed a punch on Djuma's face. Eventually the melee subdued and the game ended in a 60-51 Panther win. The UHSAA took a look at the tape last week to consider disciplinary action.

The end result for Highland was losing Fakafahua and Ben Johnson for two games each due to suspension for aggressive action. Keith West saw Fakafahua processing the situation while lying on the ground. And once Djuma threw a punch it was all "crazy from there," West said.

But it's nothing new and West said he has seen similar situations during his long affiliation with high school sports.

"Hopefully we'll make a better decision next time and let the referees make the call," he said. "I've seen adults not handle something like this. It's not just a kid thing. It's really hard to back off."

West was happy with how most of his team responded to the situation by playing peacemaker. With several fans leaving their seats and some joining the fracas, the situation bordered on chaos before it was resolved.

"It became more about the people out of the stands than the players," West said. "That's the part that's most hurtful."

With the loss of Fakafahua and Johnson, Highland was again left to test its depth. Fakafahua is the team's leading rebounder and averages 11.3 points per game. Johnson chips in 4.6 points per game and has a lot of influence on the team's success.

The rotation now includes a steadier dose of Charlie Morris and Steven Divver. Morris might have earned himself more minutes with a 10-point outburst against Bountiful. Divver's play beckons heaps of praise from West. He's good defensively, unselfish and his contributions don't always show up in a box score, West said. Highland put its depleted lineup against Stansbury on Tuesday and will play the rest of its season against Region 6.

Fakafahua and Johnson will return Jan. 19 against East and from there the Rams hope to stay healthy and meld into a deep-running playoff team.