The Hillsboro boys seemed mismatched against Nickerson from the start, eventually dropping a 55-22 decision with the continuous-clock rule in effect for most of the final quarter.
Troy Smith, Nickerson?s 6-foot-6 senior, was a huge challenge for the undersized Trojans. Smith exploited his advantage for 25 points for the game, including his team?s first 10.
After one quarter, Hillsboro trailed 12-3. The lead grew to 33-9 by halftime and 46-17 after three quarters.
Nickerson?s lead actually hit the 30-point mark (44-14) with 2:05 left in the third quarter. But the clock rule applies only to the final period?and it kicked in when Nickerson hit the 30 mark again 14 seconds into the final period on a basket by Smith.
For the game, Hillsboro managed only 9-for-35 shooting from the floor (26 percent) and no individual player scored more than four points. HHS?is now 2-15 for the year and 0-8 in league play while Nickerson is 11-7 and 4-4.
Haven?The Trojan boys took it on the chin once more Tuesday, losing to the home-town Wildcats, 53-36.
Haven held a clear edge in team height and athleticism, but the Trojans gave the Wildcats everything they could handle through the first half.
The scoring went back and forth into the second quarter, but after Daniel Dick drained a 3-pointer with 6:41 left in the first half to pull Hillsboro to within 16-15, the Trojan arsenal went silent until Caleb Hilliard popped a 3-pointer with 1:36 to go.
Haven responded with one more basket to carry a 25-18 lead into the locker room.
Haven launched a 9-2 surge in the opening minutes of the third quarter, including seven consecutive points by Ridge Foster, before Ethan Frantz broke the momentum with a put-back at the 3:27 mark.
Unfortunately, Hillsboro didn?t score again until Frantz added a basket in the paint with seven seconds left in the period to make the score 40-24 at the final break.
On the verge of a knockout, the Trojans battled back on grit and fumes and got as close as 44-34 when Ben Bebermeyer scored with 4:54 left to play.
But Hills?boro managed only one more basket the rest of the way, enabling Haven to extend its margin at the end.
?At times I thought we did some nice things,? coach Darrel Knoll said. ?Defensively, we were in better position for most of the night, but we were still getting beat too much to the basket.?
Bebermeyer led Hillsboro with 10 points. As a team, the Trojans made 34 percent of their field-goal attempts (14-41), including six 3-pointers.
Haven made 50 percent (19-38) from the floor with four 3-pointers, but held a clear edge in free throws, 11-16 versus 2-8 for Hillsboro.
Ridge Foster paced Haven with 19 points, but Devin Callon had the most memorable shot of the night when he nailed a half-court heave as the third-quarter buzzer sounded.
The win pushed Haven to 10-6 and 5-2 while Hillsboro dropped to 2-14 overall and the Trojans are still looking for a league win after seven attempts.
Coming?The Trojans were scheduled to play Ellinwood Tuesday and will face host Marion Thursday.
Next Tuesday, the Trojans are slotted to play Wichita Collegiate in Brown Gymnasium.
All games will begin around 7:30 p.m.
