A 14-3 run to start the third quarter powered the Hillsboro boys to a 67-53 win over Marion in their sub-state rematch on Tuesday night (March 3) in Brown Gymna?sium.
The first half was reminiscent of the teams? first matchup in late February — an even standoff. Hillsboro led 12-10 after one quarter and bumped that meager margin to 22-19 by intermission.
But Hillsboro took charge through the first half of the third quarter. Daniel Jost chipped in six points and Ben Bebermeyer and Jesse Allen hit back-to-back 3-pointers to power HHS to a 45-32 lead with 4:46 left in the period.
Marion, though, refused to give in and cut the margin to 47-41 by the final break when Wil Case drained a high-arching 3-pointer from the corner at the buzzer.
Hillsboro built a 5-0 run purely off of free-throw shooting through the first three minutes of the fourth quarter for an 11-point lead. The lead stayed in that range the rest of the way. The Trojans struggled at the free-throw line, managing only six makes in 14 attempts. Marion, however, failed to capitalize and the Trojans nailed down the victory without a serious threat.
Jost led the Trojan attack with 24 points with Loewen adding 22 and Bebermeyer 12. Eric Vogel fueled Marion with 23 points, but was the only Warrior to break double figures.
Both teams shot around 40 percent from the field. Both teams were sub-par from the free-throw line. Even so, Hillsboro had a huge advantage, making 24 of 36 charities compared to 10 of 21 for Marion.
Marion was whistled for 27 fouls and committed 27 turnovers, while Hillsboro committed 19 fouls and turned the ball over 17 times.
With the win, Hillsboro (14-7) advances to the semifinal game against Sedgwick (19-2) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Marion. The Warriors, meanwhile, finish their season with a 5-16 record.
