Allen’s basket lifts Trojans over ‘Cats

Grant Knoll pushes through two Moundridge defenders to make the second of back-to-back baskets to begin the fourth quarter. The burst stretched the Trojan lead to 39-34. Phyllis Richert PhotoA basket at the buzzer by senior Micah Allen gave the Trojans a 45-43 win Friday over the host team on the last night of the Moundridge Preseason Classic.

The Trojans came away with a 2-1 record for the week and a 3-1 record for the young season.

?I thought the guys did a great job of competing to the end,? coach Darrel Knoll said. ?We made some mistakes, but we kept playing basketball.?

The Trojans put in a strong effort from start to finish, then overcame a few miscues down the stretch to claim the win.

Moundridge finished the first quarter with a 7-0 run to take a 12-9 lead. Allen, the Trojans? scoring leader this season, went scoreless in the period, but started the second quarter with back-to-back three-pointers to put the Trojans on top. When Josh Funk added abucket, Hillsboro led, 17-12, three minutes in.

Moundridge rallied to tie the game at 17, but the Trojans took a 22-20 lead into the locker room at halftime when Preston Loewen hit a three with 20 seconds left.

In the third quarter, Hillsboro got two quick baskets in the paint by 6-foot-7 Austin Cross. Allen added a three-point and two-point basket to give Hillsboro a 31-23 lead at the 4:31 mark.

But Moundridge responded with a surge that closed the gap to 34-30 by the end of the quarter.

The fourth quarter remained close. A three-point basket and a dipsey-doodle layup by Grant Knoll gave the Trojans a 39-34 lead with 4:53 to play.

With pressure mounting entering the final minutes, Hillsboro was leading 43-40 when Colton Frazer scored an old-fashioned three-point play with 23.2 seconds to go to tie the game.

Hillsboro inbounded, then called a timeout with 14.6 seconds left to set up the final shot. But with Loewen set to deliver the inbounds pass, Noah Eichelberger of Moundridge blocked it, then was fouled as Loewen tried to recover the loose ball.

Standing at the free-throw line with 13.5 seconds left, Eichelberger missed the front-end free-throw. Hills?boro grabbed the rebound and got the ball to Allen, who?s jumper from the free-throw line swished the net as the buzzer sounded.

Allen led the Trojans with 17 points. As a team Hillsboro shot 43 percent from the field, including 7-for-14 from behind the arc.

?The guys have come a long way already this season,? Knoll said. ?We?ve got to celebrate the victories and understand we have a lot to improve on.?

Inman?Coming off a disappointing performance against Lyons in the first round, Hillsboro was energized in a 50-36 win over Inman Thursday.

?There was a lot more focus, a lot more intensity, mentally and physically, tonight,? coach Darrel Knoll said. ?As a result, we were able to start shutting them down. I think as the game went on, we got more and more confident about our ability to shut them down and then get out and go.?

Micah Allen scored Hills?boro?s first six points of the game and the Trojans were off to an 11-9 lead at the first break.

After Braden Vogt opened the second quarter with a three-point basket, Hillsboro didn?t score again until Josh Funk hit a 10-footer with 4:54 left in the quarter for a 16-13 lead. A three by Elias Werth and a pair of free throws by Preston Loewen bumped the lead to 21-16 at halftime.

A 10-0 run by Hillsboro over the first 4:30 of the third quarter put the game squarely in Hillsboro?s control. Grant Knoll contributed a three and Allen hit two baskets to lead the charge.

Leading 35-24 heading into the final period, the Trojans endured a brief Inman rally through the middle of the quarter, but went on to nail down the 14-point victory.

Allen led the Trojans with 14 points while Preston Loewen came off the bench to toss in 12, including 10-for-10 shooting from the free-throw line.

?I thought in the second half we did a great job of defending the basket,? Knoll said. ?I thought it was great team effort. It was good to get some of the guys in who hadn?t played much this year.?

Lyons?The Trojans met their match?in more ways than one?against Lyons in Tuesday?s opener. Both teams struggled offensively, but in the end the Lions won, 37-32, in a game that was close from start to finish.

Lyons led 9-5 after one quarter and 17-15 at intermission. After three quarters, the lead was 29-26.

In the fourth quarter, the two teams went up and down the court but with few points to show for it. When Lyons? Grady Kirkhart scored on a putback of his own missed shot, Lyons led 37-32 with 2:28 to play. It matched the largest lead either team had mustered.

The Lions then opened the door for Hillsboro to steal the win. On consecutive possessions, Lyons missed a field goal attempt, missed the front end of a one-and-one, missed the putback attempt after the missed free-throw, missed two free-throws after a foul, and even missed a fast-break layup with 10 seconds to play.

Meanwhile, Hills?boro managed only a basket by Preston Loewen.

?We played a little flat, so even though we didn?t give up a lot of points, we didn?t create scoring opportunities off our defense and allowed them to play at their pace most of the game,? coach Darrel Knoll said.

?Offensively, we didn?t execute, struggled to shoot the ball, didn?t go to the offensive boards well, and as the game progressed, we began forcing shots. We did not play with pace or with the intensity we are capable of.?

Hillsboro shot 35 percent (14-40) from the floor while Lyons shot 31 percent (14-45). Micah Allen led the Trojans (1-1) with 15 points. Dakota Nave scored 16 for Lyons (1-1) and Kirk?hart added 15.

Coming?Hillsboro complete it?s pre-holiday schedule Friday with a game against Remington (3-1) at Whitewater.

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