Staff writer
The Hillsboro High School boys’ basketball team cruised to a 30-18 lead in the first half against Halstead on Tuesday.
Coach Darrel Knoll said the Trojans did a good job of running on the break in the first half. The Trojans good work was highlighted by a sprint out, two dribble layup by Josh Wiebe that put Hillsboro up 25-12.
At the start of the second half, the Dragons opened up by hitting three 3-pointersand a fast break layup and suddenly the score was within three, 34-31 with 3 minutes, 23 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Shooting guard Shaq Thiessen then sparked the Trojans by hitting a reverse layup along the baseline, stealing the ball on a following sidelines inbound pass, and hitting another layup. He scored 8 points in the contest.
“Shaq had a lot of really good plays,” Knoll said. “He cleaned up the boards and got putbacks in the first half.”
On the Trojans’ next offensive possession, point guard Brett Weinbrenner scored the most spectacular two points of his team-high 13. He drove down the middle of the lane and was fouled in midair. While hanging, Weinbrenner threw up a shot behind his head that fell with a short roll on the rim into the basket.
“I think he was going to pass back in,” Knoll said. “But he was already up in the air so he decided to try to throw it up. It was a smart play. It was definitely one for the highlight reel.”
On the next play, Weinbrenner passed the ball behind his back to Luke Moore cutting on the baseline. Thankfully for the sophomore point guard the pass was on target and Moore just missed hitting the shot while he was fouled. Moore made both foul shots.
“In the history of Hillsboro basketball, since I’ve been here, there haven’t been a whole lot of guys pass the ball behind their back,” Knoll said.
Suddenly the Trojans were in control of the game, 41-33. Halstead would only get within six points the rest of the game. Hillsboro won, 54-45.
Wiebe was the second highest scorer for the Trojans with 12 points. The junior did a nice job of cleaning up the glass, even though Knoll said the Wiebe missed some close shots he would normally make.
