Ravens Come from Behind to Defeat the Tigers

Ravens Come from Behind to Defeat the Tigers

Senior John Hughes springs for the rebound

The Hillcrest Ravens staged yet another come from behind victory, to open up Class 1A District 9 Tournament play, in defeating the Iowa Valley Tigers 41-37 Monday at Hillcrest Union. Trailing by nine at 25-16 with just over five minutes to play in the third period, things did not look good for the Ravens. Following a time-out, the Ravens began to chip away at the margin, and an Eli Ours three cut the margin to 27-24 at the two-minute mark. 

Iowa Valley led 28-26 after three quarters and then extended the lead to seven one more time at 35-28 before the Ravens clawed back. Aiden Krabill found John Hughes down low with a touch pass, and moments later skipped it to Ours for a trey. Grant Bender connected on two free throws to give Hillcrest the lead at 38-37, then converted after an Ours steal to make it 40-37 inside a minute to play. The margin stood up and Ours sealed it with a free throw with seconds remaining. In all, the Ravens outscored the Tigers 13-2 down the stretch for the win.

Hughes and Bender finished with 11 points apiece and Ours had 10 points to lead the scoring for the Ravens. Aaron Hershberger was 3-4 from the floor for six points, Krabill scored two points and Luke Schrock completed the scoring with a free throw. Ours and Bender each had four assists and Krabill finished with three. Ours totaled five steals, Bender had four and Luke Schrock picked up three. Hershberger led with six rebounds, Hughes had five and Schrock four.

Coach Dwight Gingerich said “what a gutsy performance down the stretch. At the offensive end we kept our composure and executed, and we were able to lock down on defense and get it done.”

Hillcrest goes to 13-7 on the season and moves on in district semifinal action to play at top-ranked and undefeated North Linn on Thu, Feb 18 at 7:00 PM*.

*North Linn is limiting their attendance to 50% capacity and are allotting Hillcrest Academy 250 tickets for the contest. Tickets will need to be purchased online ahead of time using this IHSAA link. For those who can’t attend, a livestream will be available through the NFHS Network. Fans will have to set up an account to purchase the broadcast for $10.99. 

North Linn is located just outside of Troy Mills, IA. The address is: 3033 Lynx Dr, Coggon, IA 52218. Masks will be required at the game.