Ravens pull away from Holy Trinity in the fourth, move on to district semifinal
Article and headline submitted By Jeff Yoder/The News
After falling behind by 15 points in the first half of Monday’s district quarterfinal at Hillcrest, Holy Trinity was building momentum in the third quarter with a 12-5 run.
Crusader forward Mike DiPrima jumped in front of a Raven pass and raced toward the basket. DiPrima’s layup found the net, but Hillcrest senior Aiden Krabill had beaten him down the court, drawing a charge to keep the points off the scoreboard.
DiPrima fouled out of the game with two minutes left in the third quarter, and the Crusaders would not score another field goal until Hillcrest emptied its bench eight minutes later with a 31-point lead.
Krabill finished with six points as the Ravens moved on to the district semifinal with a 61-36 victory.
“I’m kind of a fan of the dirty work,” Krabill said. “(Coach Dwight Gingerich) would always say, ‘that’s an effort play right there.’ So I’ve just always kind of wanted to do that. And I just found myself in front of the big guy, lowering his shoulder.”
Things kind of came together at both ends,” Gingerich said. “They were struggling to make shots, we were rebounding the ball pretty well. And then at the offensive end, we were patient.
“I thought Grant was effective in just sort of letting things come to him. He slowed things down a little bit and took advantage on penetration there several times.”
Luke Schrock hit a 3-pointer during the Ravens’ second quarter run and scored the first four points of the second half for Hillcrest. He finished with 12 points.
Hillcrest led just 9-8 late in the first quarter before the Ravens went on a 20-6 run. Grant Bender did most of his work in the post and at the free throw line, scoring 10 points in the second quarter. He had 14 more during a 22-1 run in the second half, finishing one point shy of a career high with 29 on his 17th birthday.
Read more: https://www.thenews-ia.com/stories/ravens-pull-away-from-holy-trinity-in-the-fourth-move-on-to-district-semifinal,32738
STRONG FINISH PUSHES RAVENS TO SEMIS
Submitted by Zach Ulin/KCII
Things were still in doubt for the Hillcrest Academy boys basketball team Monday night in their district quarterfinal matchup with Holy Trinity Catholic…until they weren’t, as the Ravens pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 61-36 win. In a game heard on AM and FM KCII, the Crusaders took their only lead of the night early in the first frame at 6-5. Hillcrest was on top 12-8 after one quarter and used a 9-1 run during the second period to go up 29-16 at half. The lead would grow to 16 in the third and just when it looked like the Ravens were going to throw the knockout punch, it was HTC that delivered an 8-0 run to climb back within single digits before the most important exchange of the night. Crusader forward Mike DiPrima, on the floor in the third quarter with four fouls, picked off a Hillcrest pass and was headed the other direction, and hit a running layup after making contact with Raven senior Aiden Krabill. The officials called a charge, so instead of a chance to pull within five after a free throw for HTC, the lead remained at eight, Hillcrest got the ball back and DiPrima’s night was over. They wouldn’t let the Crusaders get any closer from that point. Leading 37-28 starting the fourth, Hillcrest scored 22 of the first 23 in the period to grow their lead as large as 31 before settling on the final 25 point margin. After the game, Hillcrest seniors Krabill, Alex Niemeyer and Noah Miller talked about their game and their roles on the team.
Miller, who suffered a season ending ACL injury in a December game against Pekin, said, “I’ve been trying to do the same stuff off the court that I was on. Being the guy that guys can go to if they need anything, try to set a good example. I miss playing with them on the court, and I know they miss playing with me but, they have done a great job and I love watching them play. It’s kind of interesting to see things from a coaches perspective, and I’m learning from the best! ”
Read more: https://www.kciiradio.com/2022/02/15/strong-finish-pushes-ravens-to-semis/