The margin of victory in Hillsboro’s 74-48 road triumph over Remington on Friday wasn’t as impressive as how the Trojans kept the pressure on when their floor leader headed to the bench.

Micah Allen has led Hillsboro scorers in each game this season, and he was sizzling in the third quarter. He followed a layup with consecutive 3-pointers, hit a pull-up jumper on a fast break, nailed another long trey, then made a rare 4-point play when he converted a free throw after a 3-pointer to put the Trojans up 54-29.

The barrage came to a jolting halt when Allen cut his chin while scrambling for a loose ball and had to come out of the game.

Allen had to exit the opening game of the season for an injury, and in that one, the team looked lost without him.

This time, the Trojans barely noticed as they extended the lead with Allen on the bench.

Preston Loewen, with 15 points on the night, and Austin Cross, who hit for 14, already had provided balance the Trojans lacked early on. Grant Knoll was everywhere on the court, leading fast breaks, moving the ball on the perimeter, and under the bucket collecting rebounds. Hillsboro built a 13-point halftime lead before Allen’s huge third quarter, and the team had no problems keeping up the pace when he was out.

Allen led all scorers with 25 points, while Cross picked up a double double with 16 rebounds to go with his 14 points. The Trojans shot 45 percent from the field for the game, and had 19 points from the bench.

The Trojans entered the Christmas break with a 4-1 record, and will resume play Jan. 6 when they host Lyons.