Trojans repeat as third place finishers
Hillsboro boys beat Riley County in 3A consolation game, again, 66-61
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
What would the basketball season be for the Trojans if they didn't have to play Riley County? For the third time in the past four years and the second straight playing for third place in Class 3A, Hillsboro renewed its acquaintance Saturday with the Falcons.
A quick start for the Trojans brought the same results of a year ago, a third-place finish for Hillsboro (22-4) with a 66-61 win over the Falcons in Hutchinson.
Less than 16 hours after having their 3A title hopes dashed at the hands of 3A runner-up Minneapolis, the Trojans regrouped to put an exclamation mark on a good year.
Despite falling behind 2-0 after an Andy Boyd basket nearly :30 into the game, seniors Caleb Marsh and Tyler Peachey combined for eight points to leave the Falcons trailing for good, 8-2.
"I think it's important to set the tone in any game," Trojan coach Darrell Knoll said. "We were really talking about the fact that last night was over.
"Today, we needed to come back and finish right and at least play up to the ability we were playing all season."
Virtually a non-factor the night before in a crushing 68-46 defeat by the Lions, a game-high 22 points from 10-for-12 from the floor by Peachey emphasized that.
Another senior closing out a great season and career, Kyle Jilka pushed Hillsboro's lead to 20-12 with a triple that beat the buzzer.
Marsh closed out his career with nine points, capping off his scoring :32 into the second quarter draining a triple from NBA range.
Coming on strong late in the year, Toby Berg pushed the Trojan lead to 25-12 with 6:17 to go in the first half.
Contributing eight points in the win, four from Daniel Deckert widened the Falcon gap to 33-18 with just inside 3:00 left.
The Falcons used a 6-0 run the closing 3:00 to stay on Hillsboro's heels at half-time, 33-24.
The Trojans gave Riley County a six-point lift off six first-half turnovers with Boyd scoring five of his team-high 18 points in the final 3:00 of the half.
Out-rebounding Hillsboro 30-27, the Falcons battling on the glass kept the game from coming unraveled on them.
Scoring 10 points, the third quarter belonged to Peachey and he helped the Trojans hold on to a 48-41 lead heading into the final stretch.
The Trojans had a good day shooting, hitting 57 percent off 26-of-46 and 38 percent from long range, boosted by Eric Weinbrenner's four threes, who finished with 15 points.
Peachey sparked a 15-4 run with a transition basket off a steal barely :20 into the last quarter.
He later capped off the eruption, throwing down a dunk with 2:42 left in the year to give the Trojans a commanding 63-45 cushion.
Hillsboro got careless down the stretch and the Falcons used hot shooting and hustle to climb back into the game.
Despite outscoring the Trojans 13-2 the closing 2:40, the Falcons were not able to get over the hill, shooting 44 percent for the game.
"I was happy we won because Riley's a good team," said Knoll. "We just made a few more shots than they did.
"I'm very happy for the seniors and very happy for this team to finish the way we did.
"They played tremendously hard all year. They were a fun bunch to coach. I thought we got after it hard and really played to win. It was a great season and the seniors played hard and well together. I'm very happy for the guys."
Minneapolis
The Trojans picked the wrong time Friday night for not having their A game with them against the Minneapolis Lions to determine who would play Burlington in the 3A title game.
The quicker, more physical Lions both outplayed and outsmarted Hillsboro from the start to roll into the title game with a 68-46 win.
Turning the ball over four times in the first 3:00 of the game, the Trojans dug themselves into a deep 9-0 hole.
Minneapolis flourished on the inside play of 6'7" 240-pound Luke Wedel to take a 9-0 lead by the time Daniel Deckert scored Hillsboro's first points, 4:40 into the game.
The Lions, too, had trouble taking care of the ball, but the Trojans couldn't take advantage of the mistakes, never getting closer than 10 points of the Lion lead.
Combining for 40 points two nights earlier in a 68-46 quarter-final blowout of Frontenac, Tyler Peachey and Eric Weinbrenner were held to nine points between them.
Peachey was neutralized inside by the play of Luke Wedel and Cameron Knox, while Weinbrenner had his hands full with Brandon Crumm, Ryan Wedel, and Josh Lott.
The Lions were impossible to stop, scalding the Trojans for 63 percent from the floor the first half and 58 for the game.
Minneapolis' high shooting percentage came from baseline jumpers that couldn't seem to miss.
While Minneapolis hardly missed, the Trojans would have been lucky if they could have thrown the ball into Marion Reservoir, shooting a frigid 13 percent from behind the arc and 18-of-41 from the floor.
Toby Berg and Caleb Marsh combined for 12 points the second quarter but the Lions had a comfortable 38-25 lead going into the break.
Down 58-40 to start the fourth quarter, the Trojans panicked, trying desperately to catch up. They failed, hitting a cold 3-for-21 for six points.
What kind of a night it was for the Trojans was best demonstrated on an uncontested fastbreak by Deckert in the game's waning moments that was deflected by the iron.
Frontenac
The Trojans' 10th appearance at the state tournament opened with a bang March 10 in a 68-46 waltz past the Frontenac Raiders.
With only Brandon Brigham and Russ Knaup able to score in the first half, the Raiders were playing two-on-five — a bad idea against Tyler Peachey and Eric Weinbrenner, who scored 20 points each in the blowout.
Clinging to a 10-8 lead to start the second quarter, Hillsboro put the game on ice the second quarter with an 18-6 run to double Frontenac over at half-time, 28-14.
Hillsboro hit a blistering 59 percent from the field while limiting the Raiders to 35 percent and 25 from three-point range.
Peachey paced the Trojans in rebounding with eight and hitting 9-for-9 at the free throw line as part of Hillsboro's 81 percent shooting.
