Playing in front of the home crowd for the final time in the regular season, the Hillcrest Academy boys basketball team used a strong first quarter as a catalyst to a 55-36 win over Columbus Feb. 4 in Kalona.

Hillcrest’s full-court pressure defense gave Columbus fits as they held the Wildcats scoreless through the game’s first four and a half minutes. During that time, the Ravens put 12 on the board to assume a double-digit lead they would not relinquish.

During the 12-0 opening run, Eli Ours fed Kobe Borntrager for a pair of alley-oop lay-ins. Ours and Aaron Hershberger added baskets of their own to contribute to the spurt.

The Ravens ended the quarter scoring nine straight to give them a 25-6 lead after eight minutes of action.

Ours scored seven of the Ravens’ 12 points in the second quarter as they took a 37-17 lead going into the locker room.

“It was really good to see us jump out to a lead early over this team that we really struggled with at their place,” said Hillcrest head coach Dwight Gingerich. “Defensively, we did what we wanted to do and I thought our offensive execution was solid, especially through the first part of the game.”

In their earlier meeting last month in Columbus, the Wildcats led by a point at the half before the Ravens outscored Columbus by 10 in the third quarter en route to a 57-52 win.

The Ravens would not have an issue closing this contest out as they led by as much as 27 in securing the 19-point home win.

Ours led the Ravens with 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting. Borntrager only missed two shots from the floor in collecting 14 points on senior night.