Photo Courtesy of Hillcrest Academy
It was a busy weekend on the hard court for the Hillcrest Academy boys and girls basketball teams. Friday night the Ravens made the trip to Columbus Junction to battle the Wildcats in a Superconference doubleheader. The Wildcat girls got the win in game one 49-33. Columbus jumped on the Ravens early, leading 14-7 after the first. The score stood at 24-13 Wildcats at the half. Columbus won the third quarter 13-6 to put the game away. The Columbus defense was everywhere, coming up with 15 steals in the win. The Wildcat’s Lily Coil posted a career high 26 points to lead all scorers. The Hillcrest duo of Esther Hughes and Malia Yoder each scored 12 to lead the Ravens. Columbus improves to 2-12 with the win, the Raven girls are now 1-11.
The boys game went Hillcrest’s way 62-35. The Ravens suffocated the Wildcats from the onset, sprinting out to a 24-2 lead after the first quarter, and stretching the advantage to 39-10 at half. The Wildcats won the second half 25-23 but it wasn’t enough to mount a comeback. The Ravens shot 52% from the floor, 43% from long range, outrebounded the Wildcats by 14, dished out 20 assists and had 17 steals in the win. Grant Brender had a game high 20 for the Ravens, Luke Schrock got to double figures with 10. Timothy Hills and Daniel Martinez each had nine for Columbus. The win moved Hillcrest to 9-3 and Columbus falls to 3-11.
Saturday saw a wild win for the Ravens at Dwight Gingerich court as they outlasted Bellevue Marquette Catholic 53-50 in overtime. The Mohawks had the advantage early, leading 15-8 after the first quarter, the Ravens answered that with a 15-8 second quarter to tie things at 23 going to half. Hillcrest won the third quarter 15-12, only to see Marquette Catholic take the final period by three to send things to an extra frame. The Ravens showed their toughness late in holding off the Mohawks for the three point win. Grant Bender had a monster night, leading the Ravens with an 18 point, 17 rebound double double. Josiah Beachy and Aiden Krabill also got to double figures with 11 and 10 points respectively. The Ravens stand at 10-3 on the season.