Boys defeat Louisa Muscatine
Hillcrest travelled to Louisa-Muscatine in Letts Thursday for a make-up game, and came home with a decisive 64-43 win over the Falcons. With Hillcrest leading 10-8, the Ravens went on a 13-5 run over the last three minutes of the first quarter to lead 23-13. Hillcrest stretched the margin to 39-21 at the half, then scored the first ten points of the third quarter to lead 49-21 with just under five minutes remaining in the period. The Falcons finished the frame on a 13-7 run to make it 56-34. Hillcrest held the pesky Falcons off the rest of the way to secure the win, as nine Ravens scored in the contest.
Kobe Bontrager had an active stat line to lead the way for Hillcrest, recording 19 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks. Eli Ours scored 11 points, including a pair of treys, dished for eight assists and had three steals. London Schrock scored nine points with four rebounds, and Drew Blauvelt was 3-3 from the floor, finishing with seven points, and had two assists. Luke Schrock tallied seven points, including a trey, and Aaron Hershberger added four points. John Hughes had three points, and Will Kolck and Noah Miller scored two points apiece to complete the scoring.
Coach Dwight Gingerich said “It was good to see us get off to a strong start on the road. L-M is often a very difficult place to play, and I thought we came out ready and defended pretty well through the first 20 minutes of the game. We moved the ball well and found shots. This was a good team win as we continue to get important contributions from a lot of people.”
The win lifts Hillcrest to 6-5 in conference play, 6-6 overall. The Ravens will play next on Monday, making up the Pekin game that was snowed out Friday night. This will be a boys only event, with the JV starting at 5 PM, followed by the Varsity. Hillcrest will then host Wapello Tuesday.