Trojans demolish Marion, advance in substate
Lucas Hamm - red hot.
Marion Warriors — ice cold.
Hillsboro 49, Marion, 35.
Priceless.
The Hillsboro Trojans walked into Marion High School Gymnasium Tuesday night focused not on revenge for an earlier loss to the Warriors, but on advancing to the second round of substate play.
The Trojans trailed once, 2-0, but free throws and a three by Lucas Hamm put Hillsboro on top, 5-2, and the Trojans never looked back.
The Trojans shot a sizzling 50 percent for the game, paced by Lucas Hamm, who had a game-high 27 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 from the free-throw line.
"He played a great game," said Trojan head coach Darrel Knoll.
The Trojans excelled on the defensive end as well, limiting Marion to 33 percent shooting for the game, and holding the Warriors almost 20 points below their season scoring average.
Knoll praised his team's defensive effort, which he indicated has been key to the Trojans' late-season success.
"We've played good defense all year long, and six of our losses were last-second ones," Knoll said.
"We're better than our record," he concluded.
The Trojans will play a second-round game Friday in Halstead.
