Ravens start year with win

KALONA - The Hillcrest Academy Ravens brought in the new year with strong team play that resulted in a decisive 73-42 win over the visiting nonconference Morningstar Academy boys basketball team Saturday. The Ravens had two last-second shots, one in the first quarter and one in the third.

After the Mustangs opened the game with a 7-4 lead, the Ravens went on a 7-1 run to lead 11-8. It was an 18-13 advantage by the end of the first period with 12 points from Eli Ours, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

John Hughes and Grant Bender got hot in the second period, scoring 10 and nine points, respectively, as Hillcrest outscored the Mustangs 20-7 to lead 38-20 at the half. It was Luke Schrock who connected on a trey to beat the buzzer to close the third quarter, giving Hillcrest a 16-9 advantage in the frame to boost the margin to 54-29.

All ten Ravens got into the scoring column in the game, led by Hughes with 18, Ours with 17 and Bender with 14. Hughes also pulled down 11 rebounds and Ours grabbed seven boards. Will Kolck scored six points, Schrock, Noah Miller and Aiden Krabill each had four points, Aidan Yoder scored three, Aaron Hershberger tallied two, and Alex Niemeyer nailed a free throw to complete the scoring.

'It was great to see the ball movement and unselfish play,” Hillcrest head coach Dwight Gingerich said.

Good ball movement resulted in a season-high 20 assists, led by Ours and Miller with six apiece, and Schrock and Hershberger each with two.

Ours picked up three steals and Schrock, Bender and Hughes each had two.

'Despite the layoff, I thought we played together well,” Gingerich said. 'This was a nice team win for our squad right now after a tough stretch.”

Hillcrest puts its record to 3-4 overall and next plays Tuesday against Super Conference North Division foe Lone Tree at Hillcrest Union.