RAVENS RUN STREAK TO FIVE STRAIGHT IN OVERTIME CLASSIC; LADY PANTHERS WIN FORCES SPLIT

RAVENS RUN STREAK TO FIVE STRAIGHT IN OVERTIME CLASSIC; LADY PANTHERS WIN FORCES SPLIT

Luke Schrock, Aiden Krabill, Grant Bender, Josiah Beachy, and Seth Ours Photo Credit: Jeff Yoder/The News
 
Article by: Sam Ackerman/KCII
 
Whenever the Hillcrest Academy boys basketball team visits Pekin, make sure you’ve got a ticket or the recorder running, you won’t want to miss it. Friday was no exception as the Raven boys came from 10 down in the first half to win in overtime 60-59 in Packwood. The Panthers had the better of it early, starting the game on a 15-5 run and leading 30-20 at half. The second half saw the Ravens roar out of the locker room on a 17-0 run that allowed them to build their own 10 point lead in the fourth quarter. Aiden Krabill, Luke Schrock and Seth Ours all knocked down clutch shots in the stretch. Pekin battled back, with the Panthers closing the margin to a pair in the final minute of regulation. After a one of two trip to the line, Hillcrest held a three point advantage with six seconds to go. Panther shooting guard Chandler Stull drilled a 22 footer at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
 
 

Hillcrest finds answers in overtime win
By Jeff Yoder/The News

The Hillcrest basketball team entered this season with a few questions after graduating a pair of first-team all-conference seniors. 

After halftime in Pekin on Friday, the Ravens got a few answers.

Senior Aiden Krabill and junior Luke Schrock each hit a pair of 3-pointers in the second half as Hillcrest turned a 10-point halftime deficit into a 10-point lead with six minutes left in the fourth quarter. 

Freshman Seth Ours scored eight points during the fourth quarter and overtime, and Grant Bender made the final shot in the 60-59 win.

“We talked about in the locker room after the game, just how everybody made huge contributions today,” Hillcrest head coach Dwight Gingerich said.

The Ravens entered Friday’s game without Jace Rempel, who has missed the last four games with a concussion. Coming out of halftime, the Ravens were down 30-20 on the scoreboard and were now down a second starter as senior point guard Noah Miller had left with a leg injury. 

“It really forced other guys to step up,” Gingerich said. “Luke, Aiden… Aiden is a nice floor leader out there from his spot. (Josiah Beachy) was playing with some awareness out there. It really had everybody else stepping up.”

Krabill had not attempted a 3-pointer this season before he hit back-to-back triples from the right and left corners to give Hillcrest its first lead of the day at 31-30. 

“They were kind of playing off of me, so Grant came up to me and said, ‘you need to start shooting the ball,’” Krabill said. “So that helped my confidence, and when I found myself open, I just let it go.”

Read more: https://www.thenews-ia.com/stories/hillcrest-finds-answers-in-overtime-win,31912