By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek boys were unable to knock off the top team in the Tri-County Conference when they traveled to Edgerton Thursday to take on Southwest Christian.
The Patriots put up a good fight through two quarters before being outscored 36-13 in the second half during a 66-36 loss to the Eagles.
"We played OK for a half," said Patriot coach Steve Wiertzema. "We just couldnÕt score in the second half."
SWC led 12-10 after eight minutes of play and sported a 27-23 edge late in the second quarter before hitting a three-point shot at the buzzer to make it a 30-23 game at halftime.
The shot late in the first half seemed to inspire the Eagles as they outscored the Patriots 19-7 in the third quarter to make it a 49-30 game before using a 17-6 scoring cushion in the fourth quarter to make it a 30-point difference in the end.
Matt Buck, who scored five of his team-high nine points to help the Patriots keep the game close in the first half, came up with seven rebounds and three assists for H-BC. Brad Haak and Trey Van Wyhe snared five and four rebounds respectively. Lance Crawford led the Patriots with four steals. Lyle DeBoer charted three assists.
Box score
D.DeBoer 0 0 4-6 4, Van Maanen 0 0 0-1 0, Fransman 0 0 3-6 3, Haak 3 0 0-2 6, L.DeBoer 2 0 0-2 4, Top 2 0 0-2 4, Crawford 2 0 2-2 6, Buck 3 0 3-4 9.
Team statistics
H-BC: 12 of 33 field goals (36 percent), 12 of 25 free throws (48 percent), 26 rebounds, 26 turnovers.
SWC: 23 of 42 field goals (55 percent), 16 of 25 free throws (64 percent), 33 rebounds, six turnovers.