Trojan boys survive scare from Lions
Harrison's buzzer-beater sinks Lyons Lions, 54-51
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
It was the kind of shot all basketball players dream of making — hitting the game-winning basket in a tight game.
For Trojan senior Patrick Harrison, the dream became reality Friday night when Hillsboro (8-0) upset the Lyons Lions.
With the score knotted at 51 in the closing seconds of the game, Harrison drained a cold-blooded three just before the buzzer, dashing the Lions hopes of a shocker with a 54-51 win.
Few teams can match the Trojans' speed in transition.
With players like Eric Weinbrenner and Kyle Kroeker in the back court, few would attempt to get into a 90-foot track meet against Hillsboro.
The Lions proved Friday night they can match the Trojans in that department.
Lyons used quick passing to get the ball into the hands of its two key weapons, juniors Blaine Clark and Kevin Sechrist.
"I thought they played a really disciplined game and they do have good players, there's no doubt about that," said Trojan coach Darrell Knoll. "I thought the first half we came out a little sluggish defensively."
The Trojans had their hands full with the Lions junior back court tandem.
Clark scored a game-high 16 points with half coming in the first quarter as the Lions jumped out to a 15-9 lead.
When the duo couldn't score, the inside bulk of Keegan Wiens and the high-flying Cameron Simms was there for the rebound.
The Lions out-rebounded Hillsboro, 27-18, with Simms pulling down a game-high nine. Derek Hamm grabbed a team-high seven with three of the Trojans' five coming offensively.
Hampered with foul trouble, Harrison got all nine of his points from 3-for-5 from three point range.
His first, barely :40 into the second quarter, cut the Lions' lead to 17-12 before the Trojans' defense seemed to wake up.
Baskets from Hamm and Dan Deckert, both coming from Lions turnovers, made it an 18-16 game as Lyons went nearly 2:00 without a basket.
The Trojans hit a lapse, too, and the Lions pulled back in front by more than a possession.
"Offensively, we're just not attacking the way we need to attack right now," said Knoll. "The problem tonight, was we'd give up six or eight points in a row, we'd bring it down, get it tied and then all of the sudden, we'd be back down four or five points again."
Lyons hit 11-for-14 at the free throw line the first half and 5-of-8 the second quarter.
That helped grab a 31-26 lead at the break, combined with a blistering 64 percent from the floor.
Scoring 12 points, Sechrist outdid Clark at halftime by three points, and at a time late in the game when the Lions could have used him, Sechrist was no where around.
Deckert and Kroeker combined for 22 points with Kroeker scoring a team-high 12.
The two scored on three consecutive possessions with Kroeker tying the game at 34 on a fast break with 5:15 left in the third quarter.
Lucas Hamm also added 10 points, all coming in the second half.
He was fouled with :46 still to go in the third on a three with a chance to cut the lead a point.
Lucas could only convert on one, making it a 43-40 game heading into the final frame.
On top of having their hands full with the Lions, rebounding was a real battle for the Trojans, especially in key situations the fourth quarter.
Weinbrenner is perhaps the Trojans' biggest threat from long range.
But up until 4:10 left in the game, the hot-handed senior was ice cold.
That changed with Weinbrenner stealing the ball and canning a game-tying three, marking Hillsboro's final basket for over the next 3:30.
With :54 left, Clark's free throw made it a 51-48 game before Weinbrenner's second three again the game nearly a half-minute later.
"Hopefully that's going to give him some confidence and get him going," Knoll said of his standout guard Weinbrenner. "He's going to get that roll-in the second half of the season, I'd rather have him struggle early and be good late if he has to struggle."
Clark missed a basket that could have meant disaster for the Trojans with under :10 left.
Derek Hamm was there for the rebound, leading to Knoll calling a time-out with 5.1 seconds to go.
Weinbrenner's inbound pass went to Deckert, who dished it out to Harrison.
Harrison calmly pulled up from the right side and sank the shot many dream of but rarely get the chance to make.
Hillsboro's shooting caught fire the second half, hitting 67 percent and 54 on the night and 40 percent from three point range.
The Lions hit 46 percent of their shots, with 5-of-8 from outside.
The Trojans face a tough week at home for the 11th annual Trojan Classic.
JV boys
Hillsboro High School boys' junior varsity basketball team defeated Lyons 64-17 Friday.
Wade Weibert led the team with 19 points. Chad Hughbanks scored eight points; Brett McIntosh, Peter Fast, Tyler Kaufman, and Darren Enns, six points each; Adam Scheele, five; Troy Frick, Justin Moore, and Tim Funk, two each; and Macy Fadenrecht, one point.
