The Trojan girls, despite a sub-par shooting night from the field and the free-throw line, still managed to hold off the Black Bears, 41-35, and break their five-game losing streak.

Hillsboro led by a point after one quarter (9-8) and one half (16-15). But by the end of the third quarter, the Trojans had extended the lead to 10 points, 31-21.

The Black Bears didn’t hibernate, however, and pulled to within a single point at 31-30 with 5:02 left in the game. The Trojans made enough free throws the rest of the way (8-14) to preserve the win, which improved their record to 6-9 overall and 3-3 in league play.

Amy Neufeld led HHS with 14 points and Dakota Kaufman added 11.

In the boys’ game, Hillsboro blistered the nets for a 22-7 lead through the first quarter. After idling through the second period for a 32-15 halftime lead, the Trojans kicked it up a notch again in the third period to extend the margin to 46-25 before blowing the game wide open in the final period, thanks in part to eight unanswered points from Clay Shewey down the stretch.

Shewey finished with 27 for the night, while David Loewen added 12 and Daniel Jost 10. The win boosted Hillsboro’s record to 9-6 overall and 5-1 in league play.