Daily Newsletters
Account
Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
319-653-2191
Ravens stay unscathed
Hillcrest Academy boys basketball fights past WACO in SEISC North showdown
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
WAYLAND — WACO took Hillcrest Academy right down to the final minutes in a marquee matchup in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference North Division on Tuesday night, but in the end, the Ravens are still perched on top of the division.
Hillcrest knocked off the only other unbeaten team in the North Division, coming back from a halftime deficit to win 55-44.
“They’re a good team, and they’re physical, so we just had to stay strong and take care of the basketball,” said Hillcrest head coach Stephen Bender. “They made it harder at times in the second half, but I thought we did a nice job, and our defense in the second half really cranked it up.”
It was a back-and-forth affair all night long, as WACO held a 15-13 lead after one quarter and a 27-26 advantage at halftime, but a tough man defense from the Ravens and a consistent night near the rim helped Hillcrest take a 41-35 lead after three quarters, and never give it up.
A big part of that was the outstanding play of sophomore Gibson Scott, who scored 17 points to lead the Ravens. All of his points came at the rim and at the free-throw line.
“I just think we played together, and just did a really great job passing,” said Scott. “We faced some adversity, but I think we were able to rise over that and play strong together, especially in the fourth quarter.”
Kale Bailey and Rowan Miller put up 12 points apiece for the Ravens. Isaac Birky scored seven, and Lincoln Miller finished with two.
For WACO, guards Nick West and Hayden Shelman had a strong night scoring the basketball. West led the team with 12 points, and Shelman finished with 11.
Sam Meyer and Niles Reichenbach each scored six points in the loss, and Kellen Shelman finished with three.
After the game, WACO head coach Chayse Roth talked about the struggle of matching up with the Ravens in the paint.
“We did a good job for the most part, but they just had some times when they wanted it a bit more than us, and they got it,” said Roth. “I thought we did OK, but we’ll be ready for it next time.”
