Hillsboro?s participation in the Trojan Classic ended on a sour note as an uninspired effort resulted in a 45-27 loss to Benning?ton in the third-place game Saturday evening at Brown Gymna?sium.
Hillsboro actually led after one quarter, 7-5, despite 3-for-9 shooting and five turnovers. But the Trojans went downhill from there, managing a mere five points on two made shots in the second quarter, plus four more turnovers. Austin Cross?s basket in the paint with 5:23 left in the second quarter was Hillsboro last field goal until Cross scored again at the 5:25 mark of the third quarter to keep Hillsboro within sight of Bennington at 24-14.
Following that basket, Hillsboro?s field goal drought continued until Elias Werth hit a three-pointer 30 seconds into the final quarter to make the score 35-17. Josh Funk scored with 3:25 to go off a missed free throw, and the Trojans? final basket of the night came when Phillip Ediger scored on a layup with 47 seconds left in the game.
With the loss, Hillsboro finished with a 1-2 mark in the tournament and a season record of 8-5.
