Boys teams close year in exciting fashion
Staff writer
Local boys basketball teams didn’t win every game Thursday and Friday, but they played some of this season’s most exciting games.
Hillsboro played its second overtime game in two weeks grabbed a victory, this time besting Southeast of Saline 71-68 Thursday.
The Trojans gave SE of Saline fits, forcing 18 turnovers, including 13 steals.
It was Hillsboro’s most consistent scoring output, as they tallied at least 11 points in every quarter, including 26 in the fourth.
The Trojans had quality and quantity scoring the ball, as eight players scored, including Brekyn Ratzlaff with 20 and Grayson Ratzlaff with 19.
Marion loses at Conway Springs
Marion lost 63-24 to Conway Springs but the Warriors appeared to solve some of their scoring issues.
Marion has averaged 24 points a game in its last three games, but a significant portion of that might be caused by slow starts in the first quarter, as the Warriors scored just two points in the first quarter two game.
They changed that Friday, scoring 10 in the first quarter but the Warriors lacked offensive production later with four points the second quarter and two points in the third quarter.
The players who managed to score did well, with Braedon Mercer tallying 11 and 10 for Will Alleven. But Burton Harshman was the only other player to score, thanks to a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter.
Peabody-Burns comeback falls short
Peabody-Burns suffered its first loss of the season, 58-56 Friday at home against Elyria Christian, but the score fails to show the Warriors’ near-comeback.
They were down 49-26 with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter and were losing by 17 points with 3½ minutes left but scored at a torrid pace to close the game.
Peabody-Burns outscored the Eagles 20-9 in the final 3½ minutes. That included nine points by the Warriors in the final 40 seconds but they still took the two-point loss.
Goessel notches close victory
Goessel travelled to face Class 1A’s 9th ranked Udall on Friday, and the Bluebirds left with a 33-31 victory.
Goessel trailed 25-20 at the end of the third quarter, but Nate Zogleman dropped in a quick bucket, and Eddie Gaeddert and Skyler Wuest tallied a trio of free-throws to tie the game 25-25 with 4:51 left to play.
The Bluebirds took a two-point lead thanks to two field goals by Wuest, forcing Udall to play from behind. The Eagles tied the game with less than 30 seconds to play, but Wuest hit a jump shot to give the Bluebirds a 33-31 victory.
Wuest led the Bluebirds with 13 points, and five other players scored for Goessel.
All teams will be on break until the first week of January.
Reporter Delbert Peters contributed to this story.