Hillcrest wins on Alumni Night

KALONA -- Hillcrest Academy hosted Alumni Night festivities Friday, and the Ravens did not disappoint a packed house, defeating Southeast iowa Super Conference North Division foe Winfield-Mt. Union 59-45.

Hillcrest jumped to a 15-5 lead after one period and then got to the halftime locker room with a 30-24 lead.

The Wolves took advantage of Raven foul trouble in the second quarter.

'This was a solid win over a team that has been playing very well, including a big win over Wapello, and a near upset of Highland Tuesday,” Hillcrest coach Dwight Gingerich said. 'Our pressure bothered them over the course of the game, and we found that if we do not play hard and together, things can get away from us.” Hillcrest pulled ahead in the third quarter, outscoring Winfield 16-7 in the frame to lead 46-31 starting the final frame. The Ravens scored first in the fourth quarter to lead 48-31 with just over six minutes left. The Wolves would not go away, chipping away at the margin to get it to 57-44 with one minute remaining, as reserves finished for both squads.

'Our defense had some really good moments, which was key, and it was great to get scoring balance,” Gingerich said.

The balanced Hillcrest scoring attack was led by Eli Ours with 14 points and nine assists. John Hughes added 13 points and Kobe Borntrager had 12 points and six boards. London Schrock had a huge night on the glass with 15 rebounds to go with nine points and three steals. Noah Miller scored eight points with three assists and a pair of steals. Drew Blauvelt scored two points and had two steals.

Hillcrest is now 3-3 on the season, and next plays Jan. 3 at Columbus.

Huskies sink Columbus

Mason McFarland had 18 points and Zack Lasek 17 points in a winning effort, 53-20, in the SEISC North game. Derek Sandburg added six rebounds and five assists. Lasek had eight rebounds and four assists.

Brody Frost and Mason Hodges scored six points each for Columbus (0-8). Evan Rees had four rebounds.

Columbus hosts Hillcrest Friday, Jan. 3.

Highland's next game is Tuesday, Jan. 7 at Hillcrest.

Pekin ups record

The Panthers improved to 5-2 with a 63-43 North win at Louisa-Muscatine.

Brady Millikin had eight assists and eight points for the visitors. Kennan Winn scored 13 on 6-of-9 shooting. Winn and Millikin grabbed five rebounds apiece.

The Panthers trailed 14-13 after the first quarter but led 39-20 at the half.

Pekin hosts Mediapolis Jan. 3.

Warriors stay unbeaten

WACO earned a SEISC South win 59-47 at Holy Trinity.

The Warriors led 18-10 after the first quarter, 31-18 at halftime and 43-24 after three quarters.

Golden Hawks fall

Mid-Prairie fell to 1-4 Thursday at River Valley Conference foe Cascade with a 56-33 loss.

Brad Tornow and Carter Harmsen each scored six points in the loss. Jack Baker had five rebounds and three points.

Mid-Prairie plays Jan. 3 at Northeast.

Beavers chew past Wildcats

At Wilton Thursday, Columbus led 24-23 at halftime but lost the third quarter 20-16 and lost the nonconference game 67-56.

Eric Valdez led the Wildcats with 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists while Hodges added 11 points.