Ravens show growth on the court

Posted 12/19/19

The Pekin Panthers came into Hillcrest Union riding a high after beating Highland by double-digits and moving to 3-0. The Ravens quickly put that to rest. A 7-0 run to start the game gave Hillcrest …

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Ravens show growth on the court

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The Pekin Panthers came into Hillcrest Union riding a high after beating Highland by double-digits and moving to 3-0. The Ravens quickly put that to rest.
A 7-0 run to start the game gave Hillcrest Academy a lead they wouldn’t lose the rest of the game in a 68-54 win.
The Ravens overcame a disadvantage on the glass by simply making their shots. The Ravens were 20-40 from the floor as a team and hit five of eight 3-pointers. Another big way the Ravens were able to sustain their lead throughout the night was from the free-throw line.
Kobe Borntrager, who had 14 points in the win said their game plan was to attack Pekin’s interior defense.
“Dwight did a great job of keeping us motivated to keep attacking throughout the game. We just kept taking it to the hole and they kept fouling us,” Borntrager said.
Hillcrest Academy spent the entire second and fourth quarters in the bonus, allowing their guards to get to the line often.
As a team the Ravens were 23-28 on free throws with Noah Miller and Eli Ours making 10 each.
“The refs were calling a lot of fouls tonight and we noticed that so we kept attacking and getting to the line,” Ours said.
The fouls weren’t only going the way of Hillcrest Academy as London Schrock and John Hughes both got into early foul trouble. They each picked up two fouls within the first 4:30 of the game. That gave extra minutes to Aaron Hershberger, who gave a solid six-point, four-rebound effort off the bench.
Eli Ours led the team in scoring with 27 points on 7-14 shooting. He also had a team-high seven boards and four assists. Ours is averaging 24.3 points per game, a big step up from his 13.6 per game rate last season. Along with that his field goals per game have increased from 10 to 15. His field goal percentage has also risen, something he said is part experience and part play design.
“I’ve played the last two years, so experience has a big part of it I think. Also our execution has just been really good. We have a lot of plays that are designed for me to get open,” Ours said.
The Ravens often screen for Ours or Miller and allow them the space to try and make a play. Miller drew multiple fouls while cutting to the basket and finished with 17 points in the win.
The lead was as big as 18 for Hillcrest Academy in the fourth quarter before Pekin closed it down to 14 to end the game.
The win pushes them to 2-2 and throws off the pecking order of the SEISC North.
“We saw they beat Highland pretty easily so we wanted to come in and even things out to show the conference that we can compete,” Ours said.
At this point, only Lone Tree has an unblemished conference record at 3-0. Hillcrest Academy sits at 2-2 overall and in conference play.

Mediapolis 56, Hillcrest Academy 52
A strong third quarter for Mediapolis helped propel them to a 56-52 win over Hillcrest Academy.
“I liked the fact we didn’t quit and played with heart. We simply broke down in several key situations, including two straight turnovers after we cut it to 45-44 early in the fourth quarter. We will continue to get better as our experience grows,” Hillcrest Academy coach Dwight Gingerich said.
Eli Ours had 21 points in the loss. Kobe Borntrager had 13 points and seven rebounds for Hillcrest Academy. Noah Miller had five steals.