It was a game that showed multiple lead changes as the Battlers pulled ahead by two points at the break, leading 28-26.

“Hillcrest's full court pressure proved to be too much to handle at times, as the Comets forced a multitude of turnovers, many of which led to easy scores,” reported Battle Lake Head Coach Tyler Owen. “The bright spot for Battle Lake's offense was the shooting of sophomore guard Drew Johnson, who knocked down 7 shots from behind the arc, leading all scorers with 23 total points. Senior Nick Carter-Fischer played an outstanding game defensively, and made Hillcrest think twice about coming into the lane.”

Sam Brunfield led the offensive attack for the Comets with 20 points.  Micah Foss registered a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.  Brumfield added 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals.  Joel Quam contributed 6 rebounds in the victory.

“Good win tonight over a scrappy Battle team that shot the 3 well against us,” said Hillcrest Head Coach Ryan Garvin.  “I felt like we came out initially with excitement, but it didn’t translate to a consistent energy, especially in the first half.  When we walked into the locker room down by two points the boys were talking about the fact that they weren’t finishing possessions and giving up too many second chance opportunities.  They also didn’t like their motion offense as it had too much passivity.  I thought our passing in the second half was the beginnings of a beautiful thing.  When we share the ball we can look really good and, more importantly, create for ourselves some great – not just good – shot attempts.  I think our boys were disappointed in our lack of consistency on the defensive end.  We had some good moments, had some timely stops, but got caught looking or flat-footed a few too many times, but they did pick up their energy in the second half and especially in the final six or seven minutes.”

Hillcrest will host Wheaton/Herman-Norcross on Monday night.

“It’s going to be an interesting process figuring out our rotations going forward,” noted Garvin.  “We have a lot of complimentary pieces on this team and I’m looking forward to seeing how they continue to win each other’s trust and play together.”

The Battlers will play their home opener on Tuesday night as they host CGB.