Ravens On the Road: Loss Against the Panthers
The Hillcrest Academy Ravens traveled to league leader and once-beaten Pekin Friday and gave the Panthers a battle before falling 48-30. The Ravens led 9-5 after one quarter and held the lead at 15-13 late in the first half before Pekin went on an 8-0 run to lead 21-16 at intermission.
The Panthers outscored Hillcrest 14-9 in the third period to lead 35-24 after three quarters, and then with the margin at 38-27, Pekin got the and-one to go up 41-27, after which the Panthers went into a deliberate mode offensively, forcing Hillcrest to foul. The Ravens struggled to make shots in the last minutes and the Panthers knocked down seven fourth quarter free throws to aid the cause.
Eli Ours scored 16 points to lead the Ravens and John Hughes added seven points. Noah Miller scored on a pair of field goals for four points and Grant Bender added a triple. Aiden Krabill had a team-high five rebounds and Miller, Bender and Aaron Hershberger each had three boards.
Coach Dwight Gingerich said, “I loved our effort through the game, we simply turned it over a few too many times that led to scores, and between that and them knocking down timely threes, that was the difference. We had some good looks that just didn’t fall. Credit Pekin, they were right there defensively and they are flat out tough on the boards.”
Hillcrest drops to 8-5 in conference play, 10-6 overall, and next plays Tuesday at home against Highland.