Hillsboro’s boys basketball team entered Tuesday night’s Class 4 District 2 semifinal pregame warmups wearing sleeveless hoodies that every player had pulled up over his head.
Looking like prize fighters, the Hawks gave visiting De Soto a quick standing-eight count in the first quarter and led 15-3. Hillsboro took that lead and knocked the Dragons out of the tournament with a 66-43 victory. It was the fourth win of the season over the Dragons and the eighth straight overall for the Hawks who are 24-3.
“It was tough,” Hillsboro head coach Dan Johnson said. “It’s never easy against those guys. (De Soto head coach Zeb Hammond) does a great job with those guys. We were fortunate to get out early and get some easy buckets. But De Soto fought to the end and we’re moving on.”
Moving on to face another familiar opponent – Farmington – in Friday night’s district final. Tip off is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
The Knights (No. 1 seed) beat the Hawks (No. 2) 49-45 in December, before Hillsboro returned the favor on its home court on Feb. 17 with a 63-55 win.
“It’s going to be a tough game against a good team,” Johnson said. “Just like the last two times, the team that makes the most shots and makes the fewest mistakes will win a district championship.”
Hillsboro leading scorer, junior Gaven Pinkley, wasn’t the focal point of the offense. Pinkley scored 11 points and fouled out with 3:11 in the game. Hawk sophomore forward Michael Brewer scored a game-high 21 points. Junior Isaiah Martin came off the bench to score 16 points for Hillsboro, and Martin was five of six from the free-throw line.
“I thought there was some questionable calls,” Johnson said. “The last one (Pinkley’s fifth foul) was ridiculous. I think there were some makeup calls at the end so the numbers weren’t so one-sided. But you can’t worry about what the officials do.
“Isaiah was big off the bench for us. He’s our Swiss army knife out there and was key for us tonight."
De Soto senior Craig Theiss played hard in his final game and led the Dragons with 13 points. After torching Festus with 36 points in the first round of districts Saturday, junior guard Austin West was held in check by the Hawks and scored seven points.
“We knew where he was going to be,” Johnson said of West. “We pride ourselves to get a hand up on a catch. And you can’t do it by yourself. You have to guard a good player as a team.”
In the other boys semifinal Tuesday, Farmington crushed Potosi 82-61. Farmington junior Brendon Hardy led all scorers with 32 points.
Eureka falls to Lafayette in district semifinals
Eureka's boys basketball season ended at the hands of Lafayette for the second season in a row.
The Wildcats fell 57-51 to the Lancers at home in the Class 5 District 5 tournament semifinals Tuesday night. Eureka (12-14) lost to Lafayette in the district semifinals last year 71-63.
Lafayette (16-12) will play Francis Howell (22-5) in the championship game 7 p.m. Friday at Eureka.
The Wildcats held a 35-33 lead going into the third quarter, but the Lancers took control with a 16-8 run for a 49-43 lead with 1:58 to play. Eureka cut its deficit to 49-48 with 1:29 left, but Lafayette outscored the host 8-3 to close the game.
Chris Stewart and Avery Taggart each scored 15 for Eureka. Kory Brubaker and Jake Messer each scored 13 for Lafayette, and Adam Flinn added 12.