The first half was about all it took for the Hillsboro basketball teams to determine the outcome of Tuesday?s games at home against Halstead. The Trojan girls led by 24 at intermission on the way to a 66-30 victory, while the boys led by 25 at halftime en route to a 46-19 decision. The running clock was in play the entire fourth quarter in both games.
GIRLS – Hillsboro dominated the Dragons out of the gate even though the Trojans led by only eight after one quarter, 19-11. Turning up the defense another notch, Hillsboro shut out the Dragons for the first 5:11 of the second quarter while racking up 12 points to take a 31-11 lead. By halftime the lead stood at 32-17.
The third quarter was more of the same as the Trojans limited the Dragons to two three-point baskets and a free throw while throwing in 22 points to claim a 56-24 margin by the end of the quarter.
With coach Nathan Hiebert subbing deeply after the first minute of the fourth quarter, the Trojans cruised to the 36 point victory.
Hillsboro finished with four players in double figures, led by Tena Loewen with 16. Danae Bina added 14 and Maci Schlehuber and Addie Lackey each added 10. As a team Hillsboro shot 54 percent from the floor (26-48) while Halstead made 38 percent (11-29).
The win boosted Hillsboro?s record to 6-1 in the league and 16-2 overall while Halstead slipped to 2-5 and 7-11.
BOYS – Though Hillsboro was favored to win going in, it was a surprising how quickly and thoroughly the Trojans took control of the game. Keying off a defense that forced eight turnovers in the first quarter, Hillsboro established a 16-4 lead by the end of the period. Four Trojans contributed points, led by Harry Faber with five.
The Dragons didn?t score their 10th point until almost three minutes into the second quarter, then didn?t score again the remaining five minutes as Hills?boro inflated the margin to 35-10 by halftime.
The third quarter turned a little ragged for both teams. The Trojans continued their relentless pressure on defense, but struggled to score, showing less patience and teamwork on the offensive end. Even so, the Trojans reached the 30-point lead by the end of the period, 41-11, to kick in the running clock for the fourth quarter.
Shaq Thiessen led the Trojan attack with 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field. Brett Weinbrenner chipped in 11. As team, Hillsboro shot just under 49 percent for the game (17-35) while limiting Halstead to 16.6 percent (6-36). The defense contribute to 21 Halstead turnovers, compared with 15 for Hillsboro.
With the win, Hillsboro improved to 11-7 for the year and 5-2 in the Central Kansas League while Halstead dropped to 3-4 and 7-11.
