Big third quarter leads Trojan boys to first state berth in 10 years.

Brett Weinbrenner looks for the outlet pass as he slips between two Berean defenders during the second quarter of Saturday?s title matchup. Weinbrenner contributed 16 points and had four assists to the Trojan cause.After a heart-stopping, last-second win in the semifinals on Friday, the Hillsboro boys simply dismantled top-seeded Berean Academy in the second half on the way to a 54-30 blowout in Satur?day?s championship game.

The win earned the Trojans a state tournament berth after a 10-year absence.

?The guys were tremendous tonight,? Knoll said. ?I felt really good about this one coming in. Last night we felt a little tight, even before the game. Tonight it just felt like we were ready to play.?

Even so, points were hard to come by for both teams in the first half. Christian Ratzlaff?s three-pointer in the final two seconds of the first quarter finally put the Trojans in double digits with an 11-7 lead.

The score was still only 14-11 when Micah Allen hit a 15-foot jumper at the 2:17 mark to ignite an 8-4 surge the resulted in a 22-14 halftime advantage.

The third quarter took the concept of ?great effort? to a whole new level as the Trojans found their rhythm on both ends of the court.

Hillsboro?s defensive pressure prompted eight Warrior turnovers while limiting Berean to nine points. Now, the offense shifted into road gear, too.

With the score 27-19, Brett Wein?brenner?s basket at the 4:20 mark gave Hillsboro its first double-digit lead.

The Trojans then completed what turned out to be a 14-3 run with a three-point basket by Ratzlaff with 1:58 to play. Berean called a timeout amid the roar of the sizeable Hillsboro crowd that savored the 41-22 lead. By the end of the quarter, the Trojans led 46-24.

?Offensively, we just wanted to get a little more rhythm and not shoot quite as early in our offense,? Knoll said. ?We were really sharp?a couple of passes and all of a sudden we had a wide open shot and knocked it down. We got on a roll and kept it going.?

With Hillsboro milking the clock for much of the final period, the Trojans took only two shots from the floor?and made both. Avery Franz scored at the 7:05 mark and Ratzlaff scored a traditional three-point play on a drive to the basket with 2:09 to go.

Ratzlaff led Hillsboro with 21 points, Weinbrenner added 16 and Jordan Faul scored nine points with three dramatic three-point baskets.

Knoll said this team has been special.

?They?ve played like this all year, really,? he said. ?I thought tonight was one of those times when we played with a lot of confidence and a lot of desire.?

The return to state is icing on the cake after a remarkable season.

?These guys have gone through a lot,? he said. ?Jordan didn?t get to play last year, Christian didn?t get to play. There?s just been a lot of things that we?ve had to overcome.

?That?s been the best thing about this team?that they?ve been able to come together and play for each other. They?re a real joy to coach. They keep fighting, they keep playing. You can?t ask for any more than that.

?I hope we can continue for three more games. That would be great.?

HHS 44, Moundridge 42

Semifinals, March 7, at Berean

Micah Allen?s lay-in with less than a second left lifted Hillsboro past the Wild?cats and into the tournament finals.

?It?s good to get a last-second win this year?we?ve lost three of them,? coach Darrel Knoll said. ?It was our time.?

With 6.9 seconds to play, Moundridge?s Colton Frazier tied the game at 42 with a pair of free throws after the Trojans squandered the 42-37 lead they had built with 19 seconds left.

On a second attempt to inbound the ball, Evan Ollenburger found Brett Weinbren?ner, who raced down court and passed ahead to Allen, who was flying along the baseline toward the basket.

The buzzer sounded as the ball dropped through the hoop, and Trojan fans and team celebrated an incredible win.

Knoll said he opted not to call a timeout after Frazier?s free throws.

?They asked me if we want a timeout, and I said let?s just get out and make something happen to the rim?and we did,? he said.

?I didn?t want (the Wild?cats) to set their defense,? he added. ?What a great pass by Brett, and Micah had the presence to keep his balance and score. It was just a tremendous play.?

Points were hard to come by all night. Hillsboro led 13-11 after one quarter when Christian Ratzlaff scored in the final three seconds. But Moundridge rallied to lead 20-19 at intermission and 29-28 through three quarters.

The Wildcats scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to take a 35-28 lead with 5:50 to play. But Hillsboro didn?t wilt. Ratzlaff drained a three and Weinbrenner completed a traditional three-point play to close the gap to 35-34 at the 4:39 mark.

When Allen hit a huge three-point basket from the corner, the Trojans regained the lead at 39-37 with 1:20 to play.

That forced Moundridge to quickly foul five times to send the Trojans to the free-throw line. Weinbrenner made the first free-throw on a one-and-one with 22.3 seconds left, then missed the second one. Jesse Brown immediately tied up the Wildcat rebounder, giving possession back to the Trojans.

Ollenburger was quickly fouled, and made both ends of a one-and-one to give the Trojans that 42-37 lead.

But Garrett Higgins gave Wildcat fans hope when he nailed a three with 10.5 seconds left to make the score 42-40.

Ratzlaff was fouled after the inbounds pass with 8.5 seconds to go, but his first free-throw rimmed out. Frazier rebounded and was fouled by Brown, who was trying to force a jump ball.

?I was really proud of the guys to continue playing,? Knoll said. ?They kept their heads and just kept playing.

?Micah Allen made some big plays,? he said. ?He had two or three steals, he hit a couple of threes that kept us in the game and kept running to the rim on that last shot. Tremendous.?

Allen finished with 14 points, tying him with Wein?brenner for team scoring honors.

HHS 64, Peabody-Burns 26

Quarterfinals, Tuesday at Hillsboro

The No. 2 seeded Trojans took care of business early and impressively on the way to a 38-point win over Pea?body-Burns.

The Trojans led 25-1 after one quarter and 44-9 by halftime. Christian Ratzlaff scored 20 points in the first half on 8-for-10 shooting from the floor, including two of three three-point attempts.

?I was really pleased with that first half?just outstanding execution,? coach Darrel Knoll said. ?The top seven guys all played well.?

Knoll sat starters Ratzlaff, Brett Wein?brenner and Evan Ollen?burger the entire second half. Even so, the Trojans bumped the lead to 36 points by the end of the third quarter.

The entire fourth quarter was played with a running clock. The Trojan reserves held their own against the Warrior starters, who re-entered the game for the final period.

Non-starters Avery Franz and Jordan Faul made huge contributions to the Trojan cause. Franz scored a career-high 12 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. Faul accounted for 11 points, including 3-for-5 shooting from behind the arc.

?I thought Avery had a really good game,? Knoll said. ?He put the ball in the basket and moved well.?

As a team, the Trojans shot 53 percent (25-47) from the floor while limiting the Warriors to 21 percent (9-43). Braxton Kyle scored six points to lead Peabody-Burns, who finished the season with a 5-16 record.

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