Ravens moving on!

KALONA — The Class 1A Substate 6 tournament picked up some major steam in Kalona on Monday night, as Hillcrest Academy and Regina went toe-to-toe in a high octane Round of 16 matchup.

After watching a 13-point lead dwindle down in the second half, it was the Ravens who survived and advanced, holding off the Regals 60-55.

“We've played a couple of games like this and lost it this season,” said senior Grant Bender. “We were not going to lose it tonight.”

Bender was making sure of that early on, as he thrived in an up-and-down first half that saw the lead change hands over and over. The Ravens had an 18-17 upper hand in the first quarter and held a 32-27 advantage at halftime.

Bender had 18 points at halftime, and the Ravens’ leading scorer kept it turned up in the third. Bender put up eight quick points in the third as Hillcrest Academy’s full court pressure caused absolute chaos for the Regal guards. After three quarters, Bender had 26 points, and Hillcrest Academy held a 46-33 lead.

“I felt really good, especially in that first half,” Bender said. “It just flowed.”

The Regals didn’t make it easy on the Ravens in the fourth quarter. Regina hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start the final period, and the Hillcrest lead was down to 46-39 in just 51 seconds.

“All of the sudden it's a six point game,” said Hillcrest head coach Dwight Gingerich. “I just felt like our guys kept their composure when things got a little crazy. That was the key, was just keeping our heads.”

Hillcrest clung on to the lead, but Regina had a couple of shots to take the lead, including one in the final 10 seconds of the game.

With Hillcrest leading 57-55, Regina had a good look from 3-point land as the clock ticked down. The ball rimmed out, and Seth Ours was there to secure the rebound, rush down court and draw an intentional foul with just 4.4 seconds on the clock.

“That was big,” Gingerich said. “Seth came through with a huge play right there.”

Ours knocked down both free throws to seal the deal. Bender hit one of two to put the icing on the cake, and Regina was vanquished.

Bender finished the night with 34 points and nine rebounds to lead the team. Ours had 10 points and four assists. Luke Schrock finished with eight points. Jace Rempel had five, and Bryce Bailey scored three.

With the win, Hillcrest Academy (12-10) moves on to play at Lynnville-Sully (20-2) in the substate quarterfinals. The winner of that game will play either North Mahaska (18-4) or Pekin (12-10) in the semis.