The two teams came into Brown Gymnasium on opposite ends of the success spectrum: the Trojans hadn't lost a game all season and the Black Bears hadn't won one.

What's more, the Black Bears suited up only five of the 12 players on their varsity roster, thanks to some disciplinary action taken by coach Dwayne Wilson.

You couldn't have blamed the Trojans if they played this contest on cruise control.

But that's not the nature of this team.

Instead of sleepwalking their way to victory, the Trojans paid the Black Bears their highest compliment: they came out as they have all year-hustling and battling on all cylinders.

The final 66-41 score would have been far worse had coach Darrel Knoll not yanked his starters only two minutes into the third quarter. At that point, the Trojans were ahead, 52-15.

"I was exceedingly pleased with how sharp we were, defensively and offensively," Knoll said afterward.

"I thought we moved the ball as well as we have all year. We've been working on getting a better shot, and I thought tonight we really did that. And we sprinted the lanes as well as we've done all year.

"I thought it was an outstanding job by our top seven to nine guys. They really played well."

Daniel Deckert scored the first basket of the game only 14 seconds after the tipoff on a nice feed from Derek Hamm. Deckert returned the favor about a minute and a half later and the Trojans were up 4-0 on Hamm's bucket.

Sterling's Kole Farney scored on a stick-back on the next possession, but 4-2 was close as the Black Bears would get the rest of the night. A 10-3 Trojan surge over the last 2:12 gave Hillsboro a 22-7 lead at the first break.

An 8-0 run to start the second quarter made it apparent to everyone that the Trojans were not going to let down their guard.

When Lucas Hamm scored in the final second of the quarter, Hillsboro took 45-15 lead to the locker room.

The Trojan starters earned their last hurrah for the evening when they started the third quarter with a 7-0 run, including a back-to-back 2-pointer and 3-pointer by Kyle Kroeker over a 33-second span.

The starters made their exit at the 5:56 mark.

Two of the Trojans' backup big men cashed in on their extra minutes. Wade Weibert, a 6-foot-5 junior, and Peter Fast, a 6-4 junior, scored varsity career highs of 10 and 8 points, respectively, with some solid play in the paint. Weibert was 5-for-6 shooting and Fast 4-for-5. They combined for six rebounds.

"Peter played really well in the first quarter and Wade had a good second quarter, and both of them did well in the second half," Knoll said. "It was nice to get them in. I had planned on getting them in early in this game because I didn't get them in the last game. I want to bring those guys along."

Sterling found some success against the Trojan bench, however, outscoring the home team, 26-14, through the remainder of the third quarter and the fourth quarter, which was shortened by the continuous-clock rule.

"The bench players got quality minutes tonight and were able to play through some things they need to improve on," Knoll said. "Hopefully, they learned some things."

Nine Trojans scored along the way. Derek Hamm led the parade with 12 points and Daniel Deckert joined Weibert in double figures with 10.

As a team, the Trojans shot nearly 55 percent from the field (29-53) while holding Sterling to 37 percent (17-46).

Knoll praised the intensity of his top rotation.

"I was really proud with how hard we played tonight," he said. "I know they only played two quarters and two minutes, but they left everything they had on the court. They were winded when they came off every time."

"It was a good win."

Coming-The Trojan were scheduled to take their 15-0 season mark and 6-0 league record to Lindsborg on Tuesday to face a solid Smoky Valley team that is 9-6 and 5-1. A full report of that game will appear in this week's Free Press Extra, which will be on newsstands late Thursday afternoon.

Hillsboro will be tested again on Friday when they play host to a competitive team from Haven that began the week with a 7-7 season record and a 2-3 mark in the Mid-Central Activities Association.