HILLSBORO: Trojans overcome slow start to stop Lyons
Hillsboro boys outscore Lyons
25-18 in fourth
to escape 57-50
BY RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
Whether the Lyons Lions were just that good or whether the Trojans are struggling that much was the biggest question Friday night in Hillsboro.
Coming off perhaps their best game of the young season Tuesday night in Ellinwood, the Trojans looked like somebody dumped molasses in the their gas tanks against the Lions.
Hillsboro, hampered by an out-of-synch offense and shooting four for eight from the foul line in the final minute, could never quite slam the door on Lyons.
Not until the fourth quarter, that is, when the Trojans used a 25-18 run in the fourth quarter to knock out a 57-50 win in a lackluster and rough game.
The win improves Hillsboro to 5-2 on the year and 3-1 in the MCAA.
"I thought early in the fourth quarter we finally ran a little offense," Trojan coach Darrell Knoll said. "We were just out of synch tonight offensively. We were not passing when we were open and just not moving the ball at the right time."
Prior to Friday night's game, Hillsboro was a team that gets out of the blocks in a hurry, outscoring teams 90-59 in the first quarter through six games.
Three minutes and 13 seconds into the game, the Trojans were down 6-0 with the Lions using two of 11 Hillsboro turnovers for four points in spite of just one field goal attempt by the Trojans.
Shawn Hughbanks sparked a 10-0 run for Hillsboro which gave it a 10-8 lead to start the second quarter.
Hughbanks had a stellar night, finishing as the Trojans' third leading scorer with eight points, hitting four for four from the foul line and pulling down a team-high seven rebounds.
Tyler Weinbrenner scored a team-high 16 from four of seven from the field along with a triple, Tyler Peachey added nine points and Steve Chisholm and Andy Brubacher each chipped in seven.
A basket by Weinbrenner just inside the 5:00 mark gave the Trojans their largest lead of the first half, 16-10, during a 3:00 Lyons-scoring lapse.
Shooting seven for 16 for the second quarter and 11 of 26 for the first half, Hillsboro could never widen the gap any more than six points.
The Trojans' shooting didn't heat up to start the second half, missing seven of their first eight shots as part of a 2:06 scoring drought.
Lyons regained the lead, 26-24, after a Wade Church field goal with just over 6:00 left in the third quarter.
Neither the Trojans or the Lions could pull away in the third quarter, with the game being tied five times.
Church tied the game up the final time 1:40 into the fourth quarter before the Trojans crawled into the driver's seat.
Weinbrenner drained a pair of free throws to inflate the lead to 51-38, but Lyons came storming back in the closing 1:49 to double the Trojans over in scoring, 12-6.
"I was happy that we maintained our composure and we never did things to cause us to lose the ball game," said Knoll. "That fourth quarter, I challenged them to win that quarter and we did.
"We should have won it more decisively than we did. We gave up 10, 12 points just because we didn't defend. We've got to finish out quarters. I was happy that we stayed after it. We were obviously not as with it as we were Tuesday, but we played hard and overcame the fact that we weren't as sharp as we should have been."
Hillsboro never got a boost from the free throw line, hitting a sub-par 18 for 30.
Sterling
On Tuesday night in Sterling, the Trojans used a quick 13-3 start in the first quarter to steamroll over the Black Bears, 64-31.
Chisholm scored a season-game high 12 points, Brubacher followed with 11 and Peachey and Jost each had nine.
Up 31-16 at halftime, Hillsboro blew the game wide open in the third quarter with a 21-5 run.
The Trojans host upstart-Halstead Friday night with tip-off scheduled for around 8 p.m.
Hillsboro returns to action Tuesday night in the Trojan Classic in a rematch against an improved Marion Warrior team.
Tuesday's game starts at 7:30 p.m.
