Senior Andrew Scholten scored 19 points to lead the H-BC boys to a 55-51 win in Adrian Monday. The victory gave H-BC a share of the RRC championship.
The Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots claimed a share of the Red Rock Conference boys’ basketball championship Monday in Adrian.
Needing a win to keep pace with Ellsworth in the title chase, the Patriots got the job done by defeating the Dragons 55-51.
Both H-BC and Ellsworth, which defeated Southwest Christian Monday, end league play with 16-1 records.
It was the first time the Patriots claimed a conference title since the 2004-05 season. H-BC also won the league title during the 2002-03 campaign.
Becoming a co-conference champion didn’t come easy for the Patriots, who received a stiff challenge from the Dragons.
After falling behind 5-4 early in the game, H-BC went on a 12-2 run ending with a three-point shot from Cory Tilstra to open a 16-7 advantage at the 10:38 mark of the first half.
Adrian countered with a 20-4 run of its own to sport a 27-20 lead with 3:16 remaining in the opening half.
H-BC trimmed the difference to two points (30-28) when Caleb Ellingson converted a field goal with 12 seconds remaining, but the Dragons scored the final two points of the first half to lead 32-28 at the intermission.
The teams exchanged field goals early in the second half before H-BC went on a 10-0 run ending with a three by Tilstra that gave the Patriots a 40-34 cushion.
H-BC led by eight (44-36) when Andrew Scholten hit a jump shot in the paint with 7:23 remaining, but Adrian wasn’t finished at that point.
The Dragons went on a 10-6 run to trim the difference to two points (48-46) with 1:40 left to play.
H-BC, however, canned five of six free throws in the final 1:13 to nail down a four-point victory.
Scholten scored 19 points to lead the 23-3 Patriots, who registered their 14th consecutive win.
Karic Wiertzema (10 points, six assists and five rebounds), Tilstra (10 points), Travis Helgeson (10 points) and Ellingson (five rebounds and five assists) also played key roles in the win.
H-BC drew the second seed for the South Section 3A Tournament. H-BC plays either Fulda or Round Lake-Brewster during Saturday’s quarterfinals in Worthington. Game time is 2:30 p.m.
