Ravens end season at Highland
The Hillcrest Ravens ran into a buzzsaw at Highland Thursday in the first round of District 7 tourney action and fell to the Huskies by the score of 47-36. The loss marks an abrupt end to the season for Hillcrest and sends the 19-4 Huskies into the District semis against North Cedar.
The teams played evenly through the first quarter with Highland holding the lead 11-9 after one. With Highland up 23-19 at just under three minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Huskies went on a 7-0 run before Kobe Borntrager countered with a bucket to close the half, and Highland leading 30-21. This nine-point margin would hold up the rest of the way, as Highland’s largest lead was 11 before the Ravens cut it to 43-36 with just over one minute to play. Bill Laughlin was 4-4 from the line for the Huskies down the stretch to seal the win.
Junior guard Eli Ours paced Hillcrest with 12 points, including two treys, and four steals, and senior forward Kobe Borntrager closed out his career with 10 points and four steals. Sophomore guard Noah Miller scored six points, including a triple, and junior forward John Hughes also scored six points. Junior forward London Schrock completed the scoring with two points.
Coach Dwight Gingerich said “Highland’s defense was the best it’s been against us this season, and we simply did not shoot well at 37 percent from the floor, down from our 46 percent average. Our kids left it all on the court in terms of effort, and I’m really proud of the season this team put together, as we improved so much through the course of the season. I’m appreciative of the leadership of our two seniors Drew Blauvelt and Kobe Borntrager. Each brought great efforts to practices and games all season long.”
The Ravens won seven of the last ten games heading into the tournament and finish 11-10 on the season.