Matt Thompson scored a game high 19 points to lead the Owls.  He also had a game high 8 rebounds.  Brandon Kellenberger and Preston Rohloff contributed 13 and 11 points, respectively.  The Owls shot 43% (19-44) from the field and outscored the Comets 15-7 on the free throw line.

Micah Foss led the Comets with 15 points and 6 rebounds.  Sam Brumfield contributed 9 points, 4 rebounds, two assists and two steals.  Caden Fischer distributed 4 assists and chipped in with 5 points.  Joel Quam added 6 points and 4 rebounds, and Yuchan Ha had 5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.  Zeke Ihrke added 6 points and 2 steals.

“I thought this was one of our best games start-to-finish in terms of what we're looking to accomplish on the offensive and defensive end,” commented Hillcrest Head Coach Ryan Garvin. “We still haven't had even a good offensive first half yet, but I thought our dribble attack coupled with our patience on the offensive end was exactly the kind of basketball we want to be playing. We just couldn't finish at the rim tonight. I don't think there is one specific statistic that jumps out to me: we could've shot better from the free throw line, made a few lay-ups, handled the ball with a bit more toughness, but I think overall we made some big steps forward tonight. I loved the grit from this team at the end of the game. We definitely had our chances. But Hancock played a tough defensive game and made just enough plays on the offensive end to keep it out of reach for us.   I think the fans got their money's worth tonight. A great atmosphere! It's a great gym to play in against a good team that comes hard.”

Hancock (5-1) will travel to Morris on Friday night, while Hillcrest (2-4) travels to Evansville on Thursday to face the Brandon-Evansville Chargers.