The Hillsboro boys’ basketball team bounced back from its first loss of the season with a resounding 79–60 Scenic Bluffs Conference win at Wonewoc–Center last Thursday night.

Three nights after a two-point loss at Westby, the Tigers came out on fire against the host Wolves (8–8, 4–5).

Hillsboro made 9 of 16 three-point attempts in the first half on the way to 22-point halftime lead, 47–27.

“Our kids responded well after that first loss,” said Hillsboro head coach Curt Hildreth. “We were very disappointed to lose over at Westby, but the big picture is all of our goals are still in front of us. We definitely wanted to go over there and get a win, but I thought the kids handled it well and bounced back quickly.”

Senior forward Max Stockwell, Hillsboro’s new all-time leading scorer, made both his three-point attempts and finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, five assists and five steals.

Senior guard Joe Helgerson, the Tigers’ top 3-point shooter this year in both makes (37) and percentage (42.0), connected on a pair of long-range shots and finished with 16 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Brothers Tommy Crandall and Tyler Crandall each made a pair of long balls in the win and finished with 12 and eight points, respectively.

Hunter Stanek chipped in seven points and five boards.

“We shot extremely well against Wonewoc,” added Hildreth. “We were getting the ball into middle of their zone and Max was going a great job of drawing the double team and getting it to our open shooters.”

Hillsboro 60, De Soto 31 (NC)

Thursday’s hot shooting carried over through the weekend as the Tigers went 10 for 25 (40 percent) in Monday’s 60–31 non-conference victory over De Soto (10–6).

It was Hillsboro’s ninth victory by 20 points or more. The Tigers (14–1) are outscoring their opponents by an average of 23.1 points per game, and have won all 14 of their games by double digits.

Stockwell scored a game-high 17 points, and Stanek posted a double–double of 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead the way in Monday’s win.

Helgerson hit three more three-pointers and scored 13 points.

NEXT UP: Hillsboro (14–1, 9–0 SBC) hosted Brookwood on Tuesday and will next travel to Cashton (2–13, 1–8) Friday night before traveling to Ridge & Valley-leading Seneca (14–1, 9–0) Tuesday in a non-conference matchup of first-place teams.

Stockwell sets Hillsboro’s  all-time scoring mark

With game-high 30 points in a 66–48 victory at Royall on Friday, Jan. 29, Stockwell became Hillsboro’s all-time leading scorer.

He surpassed the previous record of 1,399 points set by 2009 graduate Pat Alexander.

“It is a great accomplishment,” said Hildreth. “It is a culmination of a lot of hard work both on the court and in the weight room. Everybody was very excited for him, but Max would be the first to tell you that he has a lot of teammates to thank along the way. It was a good thing for the whole program.”

Stockwell had a career total of 1,426 points going into Tuesday’s game with Brookwood.