Photo Courtesy of Hillcrest Academy Social Media
A big season on the court for the Hillcrest Academy boys basketball program has led to post-season awards for their staff.
Head coach Stephen Bender has been named Southeast Iowa Superconference North Division Coach of the Year. In Bender’s first season on the sidelines at Hillcrest Union, the Ravens captured the North Division title with a 15-1 conference mark, winning their first 13 conference games this year. The Ravens finished among the top 10 in Class 1A in six team and individual stat categories including sixth with a 48.7% team field goal mark, ninth with 16.8 assists per game and 10th each with 643 made shots and just 10 fouls drawn per game defensively. The Ravens also led the Superconference North as a team shooting 32.6% from three and scoring 1599 total points. Individually, Rowan Miller led Class 1A basketball with 189 total assists and Kale Bailey’s 63.3% mark from the floor was third for those with at least 250 attempts. Bender collected his 200th career head coaching win January 16th in a 62-42 victory at Winfield-Mt. Union.
Five Ravens, Rowan Miller, Kale Bailey, Gibson Scott, Lincoln Miller and Isaac Birky were named to All-Southeast Iowa Superconference teams. The Raven’s 20 wins this season are the most for the program since 2018. Their back-to-back division titles are their first consecutive North titles in 15 years.