Trojans overcome slow start, outlast Wildcats
Hillsboro boys start
slow, finish strong
to beat Haven, 52-40
Outscoring their opponents 191-161 the first quarter, the Trojans aren't usually the team that finds themselves trailing their opponents.
Such was the case Friday night in Haven with the Trojans off on their game the first half, falling behind the Wildcats, 9-6 after one quarter of play.
But Hillsboro (12-5, 5-3 MCAA) slowly got back on track with each quarter, regaining control the second, and hanging on for a 52-40 win over the Wildcats.
Through the first half, the Wildcats held Kyle Kroeker to one field goal and the rest of the Trojans to a total of three.
Kroeker and Hillsboro warmed up the second half with Kroeker scoring a game-high 17 points with 12 coming the second half amidst burying two threes.
Wade Weibert scored 12 points and Lucas Hamm had 10 to go along with a team-high eight rebounds.
The Trojans ended the game shooting 17-for-33 overall, but were hampered by three-of-15 from outside.
That came up big in keeping Hillsboro anchored down when it was trying to pull away.
Peter Fast came off the bench the second quarter to give Hillsboro a much-needed boost, scoring four big points to help the Trojans take a narrow 16-13 lead going into halftime.
With six points from Hamm, the Trojans were able to gain 31-24 breathing room, heading into the final stretch.
Kroeker scored nine in the fourth quarter as Hillsboro put the game out of reach with the help of hitting 50 percent of its free throws from six-for-12.
Overall, the Trojans connected on 16-of-23 attempts at the line.
Hillsboro hosted Collegiate Tuesday before tackling the Ellinwood Eagles Friday with an 8 p.m. tip-off also in Hillsboro.
