Trojans drive for win against Nickerson
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports-Writer
Dropping two of their last three games to beatable opponents, the Hillsboro Trojans were faced Friday night with a must-win game against the visiting Nickerson Panthers.
With Hillsboro closing out the year Tuesday in Wichita against a good Collegiate Spartan team, the Trojans simply could not afford to stagger into Wichita on a two-game skid.
Using a big first half and a season-high 19 points from Lucas Hamm, the Trojans (2-3) got a big confidence boost, holding off Nickerson 50-44.
"It was a win we really needed," said Trojan coach Darrell Knoll. "I thought we played extremely well against a very good team, those guys played hard, they're good shooters and they executed their offense very well."
Halstead's biggest lead came in the opening minutes of the contest when Clay McConnell's basket made it a 4-0 game.
The lead changed hands four more times before Darren Enns muscled his way inside to regain a 13-10 lead for Hillsboro with 1:30 left in the first quarter.
Hamm caught fire the second quarter, scoring 12 of the Trojans' 14 points. The Panthers hit a scoring lapse that lasted nearly 4:30, as the Trojan lead inflated to 23-14 after Hamm was fouled beyond the arc and made a trio of free-throws.
Nickerson was limited to a mere field goal in nine attempts in the second quarter; just four of 17 in the first half.
Daniel Jost scored on a steal and fast break to give Hillsboro a 27-14 lead at halftime.
Coach Knoll was pleased.
"We moved the ball much better and we took better shots," Knoll said. "We missed some inside, but we were getting good shots. That's what we want."
But too many unforced turnovers and missed baskets kept the Trojans from being able to slam the door on the Panthers.
Nickerson was able to get easy baskets inside, shooting six-of-eight, to stay within 35-27 to start the fourth quarter.
Aaron Stepanek pushed Hillsboro's lead to 40-27 with a three-point play with 6:31 left.
Nickerson pulled to 44-39, but the Trojans put the game away at the free-throw line, converting eight-of-10 in the closing four minutes, 17-for-26 for the game.
"The second half we had a tough time stopping them inside, but it was good enough to win," Knoll said. "It wasn't a bad half, we just had too many unforced errors. That's the thing we've got to clean up more than anything else."
After the holidays, the Trojans will host Hoisington Jan. 5.
