Sophomore Max Stockwell scored 15 points to lead a balanced attack as Hillsboro pulled away for a 62–48 Scenic Bluffs victory over a very good Necedah team last Thursday night.
Led by Stockwell, four Tigers scored in double figures in the win.
Seniors Brandon Stanek and Matt Anderson posted identical double–doubles of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Stanek also added three assists and two steals.
Junior forward Avery Rueckheim added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Sophomore Joey Helgerson finished with eight points and two assists.
“We played very good defense locking down their guards, who are very athletic and good shooters,” said Hillsboro head coach John Koopman. “Our size combined with our athleticism really bothered them. We also did a great job limiting turnovers. We finished with 16 however that number was closer to 10 until the last two minutes of the game where we got careless on a few possessions.”
Hillsboro trailed Necedah by a point at halftime, 25–24, but the Tigers outscored the Cardinals 19–11 in the third quarter to take control of the game.
“It was a really good win over a good team, which was needed because we had not played particularly well the last couple of games,” added Koopman. “We had 12 assists against Necedah which means we really moved and shared the ball well. The previous two games we averaged only six assists. Hopefully this jump starts us in the right direction for the last part of the regular season.”
Senior Jordan Murphy scored 16 points to lead the Cardinals, who fell to 11–4, 6–3.
Hillsboro improved to 11–3 overall and 6–2 in the SBC. The Tigers remain in second place behind Bangor (11–4, 9–0), which remains unbeaten in conference play.
The Tigers traveled to Bangor on Tuesday night. Results will be in next week’s Sentry–Enterprise.
Hillsboro will return to action Friday at Cashton (4–11, 1–8). Saturday night the Tigers will host Brookwood.
Last Tuesday’s non-conference game at Seneca was postponed by inclement weather and will be made up Feb. 22 at Seneca at 4:30 p.m.
Last Monday’s non-conference game with Westby was also postponed by inclement weather. That game will now be played at Westby on Feb. 14.