Hillcrest Ravens Defeat Morning Star Academy Mustangs

The Hillcrest Academy Ravens brought in the new year with strong team play and a decisive 73-42 win over visiting Morning Star Academy Saturday. After the Mustangs led 7-4 in the early going, the Ravens bounced back to lead 11-8. Eli Ours scored 12 in the frame, including a buzzer beating three to give Hillcrest the 18-13 lead after one period. 

John Hughes and Grant Bender got hot in the second period, scoring 10 and nine points, respectively, as Hillcrest outscored the Mustangs 20-7 to lead 38-20 at the half. It was Luke Schrock who connected on a trey to beat the buzzer to close the third quarter, giving Hillcrest a 16-9 advantage in the frame to boost the margin to 54-29.

All ten Ravens got into the scoring column in the game, led by Hughes with 18, Ours with 17, and Bender with 14. Hughes also pulled down 11 rebounds and Ours grabbed seven boards. Will Kolck scored six points, Schrock, Noah Miller and Aiden Krabill each had four points, Aidan Yoder scored three, Aaron Hershberger tallied two, and Alex Niemeyer nailed a free throw to complete the scoring. Good ball movement resulted in a season high 20 assists, led by Ours and Miller with six apiece, and Schrock and Hershberger each with two. Ours picked up three steals and Schrock, Bender and Hughes each had two.

Coach Dwight Gingerich said, “It was great to see the ball movement and unselfish play, and despite the lay-off, I thought we played together well. This was a nice team win for our squad right now after a tough stretch.”

Hillcrest goes to 3-4 overall and next plays Tuesday against conference foe Lone Tree at Hillcrest Union.