By DAVID COLBURN

News editor

In spite of a complete disappearing act in the third quarter Tuesday, the Hillsboro boys made the most of the other three periods to get past Riley County 51-40 in the first round of the Trojans Classic tournament.

The Trojans dominated the first half, taking a 30-9 lead by halftime. Micah Allen started the game with a nifty pump fake to shed a Falcon defender before canning a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Braden Vogt closed out the quarter with another trey, putting Hillsboro up 14-7.

Consecutive threes from Allen and Preston Loewen pushed the score to 22-7. Josh Loewen and Grant Knoll picked up baskets in the second quarter. The Trojans shot a blistering 66 percent from the field in the first half.

Any thoughts of a Trojans runaway victory disappeared immediately in the third quarter. Coach Darrel Knoll called timeout after just two possessions, sensing his team came out flat.

It didn’t help. Hillsboro didn’t score in the quarter, misfiring on all seven shots. Riley County scored 13, crawling back to within 8 points, 30-22, as the quarter ended.

Lowen ended nine minutes of scoreless basketball for the Trojans with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 7 minutes, 1 second remaining in the game. It was all the Trojans needed to jump start the offense, scoring 21 points to hold off the Falcons’ rally.

Allen scored 23 points to lead all scorers. Loewen was the only other Trojan in double-figures with 10.

Hillsboro will play at 8:15 Friday against Holcomb in the high school gym.