“Hillcrest came out with great defense, forced a lot of turnovers, and kept us to a poor shooting percentage in the first half,” reported Wheaton/Herman-Norcross Head Coach Jordon Roos. “We tightened things up defensively, took care of the ball really well, and hit more shots in the second half that led to a nice come from behind win.”

The Warriors finished the night shooting 41% from the floor, madding 35% of their 3’s and outscoring the Comets 17-2 on the free throw line.  Determan added 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals to his 23 points and Zach Braaten contributed 6 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and a blocked shot.

“We played a really solid first 15 or 16 minutes,” commented Hillcrest Head Coach Ryan Garvin.  “Our offense was dribble-happy, but we got enough in transition that we made up for it a bit.  Our defense was really pretty solid, we played well at the rim and rebounded well, until the last two or three minutes in the first half.  Unfortunately, a high school basketball game is 36 minutes and we again had a hard time finishing.”

Sam Brumfield and Noah Brumfield each ended the game with 15 points and 6 rebounds.  Zayne Weinrich scored 13, Caden Fischer finished with 3 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists, and Matthew Knutson pulled down 6 rebounds.

“We were actually up 29-21 at half, but couldn’t get many stops in the second half,” added Coach Garvin.  “We didn’t move the ball with the pass well and took some shots that I would say isn’t us as they were contested, quick and lacking rhythm.  They resulted in some transition buckets for Wheaton and really swung the tide.  We just couldn’t regain our composure and Wheaton knocked down free throws at the end.”

Hillcrest (12-5) will host Ashby in a game against the Little Eight Conference leading Arrows.

Wheaton/Herman-Norcross (14-4) recorded their eighth straight win and will host West Central Area on Friday night.