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Trojans dominate Goessel

Bluebirds no match for Hillsboro in 64-24 waltz

Staff writer

For about the first half of the first quarter in Tuesday night’s opening round of the Hillsboro substate, the Trojan boys’ basketball team looked like a team that hadn’t played recently.

They hadn’t, as Old Man Winter wiped out their regular season finale, delaying Senior Night until Tuesday’s game.

Against the Wheat State League’s Goessel Bluebirds, the Trojans were out of sync in passing, and not as sharp as usual.

That was only the first four minutes, though, and once Hillsboro got going, it didn’t take long for the floor to fall out from under the Bluebirds, getting crushed 64-24.

The Trojans advanced to the second round for a Friday rematch with the Moundridge Wildcats, who toppled Herington.

Goessel knotted the game at 7-7 with just under 3:00 left in the first quarter, but after that, Brodie Rathbone sparked a 20-2 run that left the Bluebirds in jeopardy of getting blown out of the gym by halftime.

The Trojan duo of Elias Werth and Wes Shaw alone were more than Goessel could handle, combining for 32 points, while Darian Ratzlaff added 13 more.

Hillsboro broke the game wide open in the second quarter with a 26-9 explosion, racing to a commanding 40-16 lead at the break while hitting 11-for-18 from the field.

If things could get any worse for the Bluebirds, who gave up a scalding 61 percent shooting the second and third quarters, they went the closing 3:26 of the third quarter without a basket.

By the time it ended, Hillsboro’s lead had swollen to 60-21, kicking in the running clock for the fourth quarter.

The blowout allowed Trojan coach Darrel Knoll to utilize his entire bench early, allowing senior Samuel Johnson, Avery Unruh, and Hunter Hein to get in on the action.

“I thought we played really hard on the defensive end the entire night,” Knoll said. “After the first four minutes of being a little impatient, things started rolling.

“It was a great team effort and we really forced them out of anything they wanted to do offensively.”

Friday’s semifinal game is slated for 7:30.

Last modified Feb. 28, 2018

 

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