ONTARIO — The Hillsboro boys basketball team improved to 7–0 on the season and 3–0 in the Scenic Bluffs Conference with an 81–46 victory at Brookwood last Thursday night.

The Tigers dominated the entire game start to finish and cruised to a 35-point win.

Hillsboro, ranked second in Division 5, built a 41–25 halftime lead and kept pouring it on throughout the second half with all 14 players playing extended minutes.

“We are excited about the start we are off to,” said Hillsboro head coach Curt Hildreth. “In a lot of areas we are playing well right now and our efficiency on the offensive end keeps improving as we get more games under our belt.

“We need to defend better and it has been a point of emphasis in practice and in games. We certainly are not a complete team yet, but that is to be expected and is okay at this time of the year.”

Senior forward Max Stockwell pumped in a game-high 28 points to go along with six rebounds and four steals.

Senior guard Joe Helgerson added 18 points, a team-high six assists, three steals and three 3-pointers.

Senior Ethan Thorson scored a season-high 12 points and grabbed four rebounds. Hunter Stanek finished with six points and six boards for the victorious Tigers.

“We must continue to take advantage of our mismatches on the offensive end and sharing the ball as we have been in practice and in our most recent game against Brookwood,” added Hildreth. “Containing the dribble on defense is something we are focusing on right now and trying to improve to keep progressing as a team.”

Hillsboro (7–0, 3–0 SBC) hosted struggling Cashton (1–7, 0–3) Tuesday night and will next travel to fellow SBC co-leader Bangor (9–0, 3–0) Friday night. The Cardinals swept the Tigers last year during the regular season, but Hillsboro advanced to the WIAA Division 5 state championship game, after Bangor, 21–3 a year ago, suffered a regional final loss to Gilmanton.

Gone is all-state forward and two-time SBC Player of the Year Canon O’Heron, but Bangor still has plenty of talent.

Sophomore guard Luke Reader leads the team in scoring at 18.9 points per game.

Senior forward Jack Reader averaged 15 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.

The Cardinals smashed Cashton, 87–26, last Thursday.