Trojan teams have split results in tournament openers
Written by DR
Monday, 16 January 2006
The Hillsboro girls continued to struggle in a loss to Riley County while the boys defeated Hesston for the second time in one week
The Hillsboro basketball teams started their 2006 Trojan Classic experience with decidedly different outcomes.
The Trojan girls continued their recent funk, losing to Riley County in the first round of pool play, 39-25.
Although Riley County is the defending Class 3A state champion, this was not the same cailber of team that took the court last year. Hillsboro had the talent to win but couldn't seem to put the pieces together -- or the ball in the basket.
Riley led 3-0 after one quarter and only 14-12 at the half. Hillsboro shot 23 percent (5-22) while Riley made only 25 percent (6-34) -- and it wasn't particularly because of aggressive defense by either side.
In the second half, Riley found success in the paint and built a 22-14 lead by the end of the third quarter.
Unfortunately, Hillsboro's attack only withered further in the second half as the Trojans made four of 24 shots (17 percent) while Riley made nine of 17 from the floor and 7 of 10 from the line to claim the double-digit victory.
For the game, Hillsboro shot 25 percent from the field. JuliAnne Chisholm scored 10 points.
With the loss, Hillsboro dropped to 4-6 and will play Cair Paravel in the second round of pool play at 6 p.m. Thursday in Hillsboro.
The Trojans boys, meanwhile, found the going a little tougher on this Tuesday than they did the previous Tuesday, but still came away with a 53-37 victory over Hesston.
The Trojans led 10-7 after one quarter, but two layups by Kyle Kroeker with 50 and 35 seconds left in the first half gave Hillsboro a 28-17 lead at halftime and a huge momentum boost going into the locker room.
By the end of the third quarter, Hillsboro led 38-22 and maintained that margin at the final buzzer.
Kroeker finished with 24 points for the Trojans, who improved to 8-2 for the season and made their way into the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Belleville, who defeated Marion, 68-42, earlier on Tuesday.
