A pair of KCII area boys basketball teams played a defensive grinder Saturday at Highland High School as the visiting Hillcrest Ravens scored a 41-36 win over the Huskies. The game was back and forth most of the day, with Highland leading 12-7 after the first eight minutes, and the Ravens countering in the second period 19-11 to take a 26-23 lead into the half. Out of the break, Hillcrest would score just one point in the third quarter, but the Huskies were limited to just six as both defenses dug in and Highland took a 29-27 lead to the fourth. Early in the fourth quarter, the Ravens got their only field goal of the second half, an Eli Ours baseline jumper. The Raven defense and foul shooting was enough to keep Highland at bay down the stretch. After the game, Hillcrest head coach Dwight Gingerich talked about his team’s defense and the overall effort to collect a tough win. “I think both teams are worn down a little bit. We talked about it before the game, we’re tired, but th
The Hillcrest Academy boys basketball team is back in Kalona Friday night when the Pekin Panthers come to town. The Ravens are 2-3 on the year after Tuesday’s 70-62 loss to Cardinal in Eldon. Eli Ours led the Ravens in the contest with 18 points. Hillcrest is led in scoring on the season by Ours with 14 points per game. He also has a team best three and a half assists per contest and over three steals per game. John Hughes leads Hillcrest on the glass, pulling in five rebounds per game.
Pekin stands at 5-1 on the season. They rolled through Columbus on Tuesday 71-30 in Packwood. On the season, the Panthers are led by a trio of seniors in double figures with Brock Long at 17 points per game, Brady Millikin at 15 and Brayden Sobaski at 10 points per contest. Millikin and Long share the team lead at three assists per game. Cael Lyle has a team best six boards per contest. This week, Hillcrest head coach Dwight Gingerich, broke down his team’s performance against Cardinal. “After
The Hillcrest Academy boys basketball team fell below the .500 mark for the season on Tuesday with a 70-62 road loss at Cardinal of Eldon. The Ravens built a small lead early, up 6-2 in the game’s first two minutes, but the Comets closed the first quarter on a 21-4 run to take a lead they would not give up the rest of the night. After falling behind by 16, the Ravens clawed back into the game late in the first half to pull within seven before an Ian Liles banked in three pointer put Cardinal up 41-31 going to the break. Cardinal won the third quarter 11-6 to push their advantage back to 15 going to the fourth. Hillcrest would put together one more charge, cutting the deficit to seven again in the final minute but could get no closer. After the game, Hillcrest head coach Dwight Gingerich talked about his team’s play. “After a rough start in the first quarter and a little bit again in the third quarter, we played pretty well in the second and fourth quarters. We gave up too many
The Hillcrest Academy boys basketball team is back on the road tonight when they travel to Eldon to meet the Cardinal Comets. The Ravens are an even 2-2 on the season after a win on the road Friday at Columbus 44-27 behind 13 points and seven rebounds from John Hughes. On the season, the Ravens are led by Eli Ours scoring 13 points per game. Hughes leads the Ravens on the glass at five rebounds per contest and Noah Miller has the team lead dishing out four assists per game.
Cardinal comes into the contest also at 2-2 on the year. Last time out they beat WACO in convincing fashion 75-38 Friday. The Comets were up 26-12 after one quarter and 48-27 at the halftime break before putting the game away with a 16-2 run that lasted the entire third quarter. For the year the Comets are led by Griffin Greiner at 18 points and Landon Becker at 17 points per game respectively. Greiner leads Cardinal at three assists per contest while Becker pulls down a team best six boards per game. This week,