“Finals week and three games in five days showed up for us in the first half,” commented Head Coach Ryan Garvin of Hillcrest.  “I was not disappointed in our defense, but we were not nearly as aggressive on the defensive boards as we know we need to be if we’re going to be successful in a possession.  On the offensive end, their 1-3-1 seemed to rattle us and we threw some unnecessary passes and forced others resulting in numerous turnovers and lost offensive opportunities.  The second half we started in a zone and got a turnover and a quick bucket.  The boys liked it and decided to stay in it and we pretty much lived in it in the second half.  We forced a fair amount of turnovers and made them more uncomfortable than we were making them in our man defense.”

Noah Brumfield scored 13 first half points and 23 in the second half, going 16-for-23 from the field and finishing with 36 points.  He also had 6 steals, 3 assists and 7 rebounds for the Comets.  Gabe Swedenburg ended the night with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals, and Luke Christensen added 8.  Preston Berge contributed 7 rebounds and 2 steals.

“This is a game where our captain leadership really seemed to shine,” added Garvin.  “We had a couple of 10 point leads, but couldn’t hold them.  Park battled back and Isaac Jacobson (16 points) hit a big corner three, which tied it up at 56.  Out of the ensuing timeout, Luke Christensen hit a 24-footer off of a ball reversal and we were able to hold on after that.”

Bridger Carlson led Park Christian with 20 points.

Hillcrest (8-1) has a pair of Little Eight Conference home games coming up, hosting Underwood on Tuesday and Battle Lake on Thursday.