Ranked teams prevail between Hillsboro and Kingman

Ranked teams prevailed Friday in a meeting between Kingman and Hillsboro. The Kingman girls, ranked fourth in Class 3A, defeated the Trojans 55-30 while the Hillsboro boys, ranked eighth in Class 2A, outlasted the Eagles in a physical contest, 50-38, at Kingman.

GIRLS—Hillsboro’s strong suit was its defense, but the Eagles simply had too many offensive weapons for the Trojans to disarm. Hillsboro competed well as the game began, trailing only 11-8 with 1:50 left in the first quarter. The home team finished with a 7-2 surge for an 18-10 lead as the quarter ended.

If the Trojans had a chance for an upset, it slipped away in the second quarter when Kingman outscored the Trojans 13-2, for a 31-12 halftime lead.

To their credit, the Trojans did not roll over. In fact, they came out of halftime with focus and enthusiasm and literally played point-for-point with Eagles in a 13-13 third quarter standoff. Freshman Teegan Werth the fire power for Hillsboro with 11 points, including three 3-pointers.

Unfortunately, Hillsboro couldn’t maintain that scoring pace in the fourth quarter. The home team secured the win with an 11-5 advantage for a 25-point victory margin.

Werth led Hillsboro with 13 points. With the loss, Hillsboro’s record stands at 8-9 for the season and 2-5 in the league.

BOYS—Hillsboro’s 12-point win was closer than it would appear on the surface. The way the officials were calling the game, the Trojans had to flip their style switch from finesse to physical in order to secure the 50-38 victory.

Both teams struggled to score points at the start. Kingman hit a 2-point and 3-point basket out of the gate for a 5-0 lead. Baskets by Darian Ratzlaff, Elias Werth and Brooks Gardner vaulted the Trojans into a 6-5 lead with 43 seconds left. But Kingman’s Tanner Albright scored in the waning seconds for a 7-6 Eagle lead at the first break.

Hillsboro came out aggressively in the second quarter, with Darian Ratzlaff providing eight points. A 3-point basket by Werth with 39 seconds left gave Hillsboro a 21-12 lead at intermission.

The two teams seemed to amp up the physical play as the third quarter began. With Hillsboro leading 30-20, the Trojans literally shut down the Eagle offense until Payton Willert sank a pair of free throws with 2.6 seconds left in the quarter. Hillsboro, meanwhile, was sitting at 35 points with one quarter to go.

The pressure was on Kingman to orchestrate a rally in the fourth quarter, but the two teams played to a 15-15 standoff as the game ended.

Unofficially, Ratzlaff led the Trojans with 20 points and Werth added 18 as the Trojans improved to 14-3 for the season. Kingman slipped to 8-9 for the season.

COMING—Hillsboro will have its hands full next week with games against Hal­stead on the Trojans’ home court on Tuesday, then a game at traditional rival Hesston on Friday.

The Halstead girls are ranked seventh in 3A. The Halstead boys are ranked fourth in 3A and the Hesston boys are ranked sixth in 3A.

Written By
More from Don Ratzlaff
Done too soon
Hillsboro falls to Central Plains in sub-state championship; Marion suffers quarterfinal loss...
Read More