Trojan teams pull off a second sweep at Moundridge tourney

The Hillsboro basketball teams kept their tournament records perfect with wins over Lyons in Round 2 of the Moundridge Pre-Season Tournament on Thursday.

The Trojan girls came from behind to win, 40-39, on a basket by Sienna Kaufman in the final seconds. The Trojan boys finished strong in the second half for a 73-52 victory.

GIRLS—In a mirror version of their first-round win against Moundridge on Tuesday, the Trojans came out scoring at the start and struggled for scoring in the second half against Lyons.

Three-point baskets by freshmen Teegan Werth and Kinsey Kleiner fueled the Trojans to a 14-11 lead after one quarter.

Kaufman took charge in the second quarter, scoring eight of Hillsboro’s 11 points in the period. Lyons matched Hillsboro’s scoring point for point, enabling the Trojans to maintain their three-point lead at halftime.

Hillsboro appeared to take charge of the contest in the third quarter, when the Trojans went on a 11-2 run for a 31-22 lead at the 5:20 mark. But Lyons returned the favor with a 9-3 surge to finish the quarter with yet another three-point margin, 34-31.

The Trojans almost let the win slip away, missing their first six shots of the fourth quarter. Lyons capitalized, taking a 36-34 lead midway through the period.

Kaufman tied the game at 36 with 2:20 to play and Abby Sechrist added a basket with 33 seconds left to bump the lead 38-36. When Lyons scored in the paint and made the bonus free throw, Hills­boro was suddenly behind, 39-38, with 18 seconds left in the game.

Trojan coach Nathan Hiebert called a pair of timeouts to set up his team’s final assault. With 11.5 seconds to go, the Trojans got the ball into Kaufman, who drove the lane and scored — just as the play was drawn up in the team huddle.

Kaufman compiled 14 points during the game to claim team scoring honors. Werth added nine points.

The Hillsboro girls are now 2-1 for the season and will be playing for the tournament championship when they meet Inman in Round 3 on Friday. The tipoff will be at 4 p.m.

BOYS—When the Trojans opened the game with a 12-0 run in the first 3:50 of the contest, it appeared Hillsboro was on its way to a major blowout. But the Lions rallied for a 10-4 surge, cutting the deficit to six points, 16-10, as the quarter ended.

In the second quarter, Elias Werth and Darian Ratzlaff combined for 11 points as the Trojans bumped their lead to 30-21 by the end of the period.

If the Trojans appeared a bit lethargic through most of the first half, they came out on fire in the third period. Werth wielded the biggest torch, scoring 14 points during the period. By the time the smoked cleared at the end of the quarter, the Trojans were safely ahead, 55-37.

Ratzlaff tossed in eight points in the final period, and Caleb Rempel hit his second and third 3-pointer in the second half as Hillsboro cruised to the 73-52 final score.

Werth finished with a team-high 24 points, Ratzlaff contributed 22 and Caleb Potucek cracked double-digits with 12.

Hillsboro boys, now 3-0 for the season, will be playing for the tournament title Friday in Round 3 against Inman. The game will begin at about 5:30 p.m.

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