Hillsboro boys 1-1 for the week

Preston Loewen draws a foul during the third quarter at Halstead Thursday. He made both free throws and scored 14 points in Hillsboro?s 52-42 loss. Phyllis Richert PhotoThe Hillsboro boys saw an opportunity for victory slip away in the final quarter, dropping a 52-42 decision at Halstead Thursday.

The Trojans (6-3) played from behind all night. The Dragons (5-5) launched a 10-1 run midway through the first quarter to stake a 14-9 lead at the break.

The two teams played even-steven through the second quarter. Hillsboro pulled to within 21-20 when Micah Allen hit the second of consecutive baskets at the 1:57 mark, but Halstead hit two free throws and a layup for a 25-20 lead at halftime.

Hillsboro battled to with?in 29-27 before Hal?stead launched an 8-0 run at the 3:42 mark of the third period to establish a 37-27 lead. A three-point basket by Pres?ton Loewen and a layup by Grant Knoll narrowed the gap to 39-32 as the quarter ended.

Hillsboro?s Braden Vogt scored in the paint to begin the final quarter, but Hal?stead responded with seven unanswered points over a critical 2:30 span to inflate the lead to 46-34 with 4:34 left in the game.

Allen hit Hillsboro?s second basket of the quarter with 2:48 to go, sparking a 5-0 spurt capped by Loewen?s three-pointer with 1:02 left. It proved to be Hills?boro?s last basket while Hal?stead topped off the win with four more points.

Allen and Loewen each scored 14 points to pace Hillsboro, which shot 38 percent from the floor. Halstead, which shot 54 percent, was led by Dylan Ratzlaff with 15 and Tate Kaufman with 12.

?Offensively, we didn?t execute very well at all,? coach Darrel Knoll said. ?And the wide-open looks we got, we didn?t make.?

The final quarter was particularly disappointing.

?Even with 50 seconds left we were down six?that?s two possessions,? Knoll said. ?We?ve got to learn at that point to execute some offense and knock down our shots.?

Hillsboro senior Josh Funk looks for an open teammate to pass to during the first half of Hillsboro?s 52-39 win over Smoky Valley in Lindsborg last Tuesday. The win improved the Trojans? record to 6-2. Don Ratzlaff / Free PressSmoky Valley?The Trojans established a 10-0 lead at the start, more or less maintaining that margin through the next two quarters, then held off a Viking rally in the fourth quarter to claim a 52-39 victory Tuesday at Lindsborg.

David Dick hit a three-point shot 1:03 into the game to ignite the 10-0 start. Smoky finally scored with 1:07 left in the quarter, but a bucket by Austin Cross gave HHS a 12-2 lead at the first break.

The two teams played to a near stand-off over the next two quarters. Hillsboro led 25-13 at halftime and 37-24 through three quarters.

The fourth quarter turned into a Jekyll and Hyde experience for the Trojans. Smoky suddenly found its shooting touch?including some easy buckets behind the Trojan defenders?and cut the lead to 37-34 with 5:56 to play.

Micah Allen scored 12 seconds later to end the Vikings? 10-0 run. Over the next minute and a half the Vikings missed six consecutive shots plus two-of-two free throws.

Allen was fouled on a dipsy-do layup, made the bonus free throw at the 4:15 mark, then added five more unanswered points to put the Trojans safely on top, 47-34, with 2:28 to play.

Smoky made one last 5-0 rally before Hillsboro ended the contest with a 5-0 run of its own in the final 1:03.

?At times we had really good spurts, then at the end of the third quarter and mainly the beginning of the fourth quarter, we gave them layup after layup?and we hadn?t done that the entire game,? coach Darrel Knoll said. ?We had a little spurt in the first half were we would defend and defend, and then we give them some easy looks inside.

?We clean up those two spurts in the game and it?s not a 13-point win, it?s a 20-point win.?

Allen led all scorers with 23 points on 9-for-19 shooting. As a team, the Trojans shot with nearly 40 percent (19-48) success for the night.

The Vikings, who shot 35 percent from the floor, were led by Cole Norberg with eight points.

?You have to give Smoky credit, they kept playing hard,? Knoll said. ?But once they got the lead down to three, we were able to regroup and do a better job offensively and defensively.?

The win bumped Hills?boro?s record to 6-2 while the Vikings fell to 1-6.

Coming?Hillsboro (6-3) will open play at 8:15 p.m. Tues?day in the 21st annual Trojan Classic. The No. 4 seeded Trojans will take on No. 5 Riley County (5-4) in Brown Gymnasium.

A victory would mean an 8:15 game Friday against the winner of No. 1 Holcomb (9-0) and No. 8 Clay Center (1-8) in Brown Gymnasium. A loss would pit the Trojans against the loser of that game at 6:30 p.m. in the Tabor College gym.

The tournament concludes Saturday with boys? games starting at 12:45 p.m. in the high school and middle school gyms.

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