“Loved our energy out of the gate tonight on the defensive side of the ball,” said Hillcrest Head Coach Ryan Garvin.  “We got 8 stops in the first 10 possessions and held the Owls to 7-of-31 from the field in the first half.  We got a lot of great minutes from 9 guys in the first half, which allowed us to cycle in some fresh legs on a fairly frequent basis and keep up the defensive intensity through the half.  It was great to have Gabe Swedenburg back in the lineup tonight as he changes things for us, defensively.  Having him rejoin Sean Berge, Lincoln Nash, Vincent Nash and Noah Bjorndahl has been a boon to our defensive arsenal.  They did a great job crowding Hudson VerSteeg and limiting any good looks he might have had.  Leo Nordick also had a nice nigh for us.  He crashed the offensive glass, had a nice look into Ethan and had a great finish at the rim.”

Garvin continued, “In the second half, we played pretty solidly on the defensive end through the first ten minutes, holding the Owls to 10 points and forcing some tough looks.  Unfortunately, our intensity waned and in the last 4-plus minutes we gave up 16.  That said, I was pleased with our overall energy tonight on that end of the floor.”

Hancock was led by Chase Evink (17 points, 13 rebounds), Hudson VerSteeg (15 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists) and Trey Holm (13 points, 3 steals).  The Owls made just 22 of 58 shots from the field for 38%.

“We didn’t have much of a semblance of a rotation or offensive rhythm tonight, but that wasn’t a focus,” concluded Garvin.  “Those things will come.  If we can learn to play with that kind of defensive intensity and offensive patience for 36 minutes, those are the lessons that will serve us well into February and March.”

Hillcrest (2-1) will play at Mahnomen/Waubun on Thursday night. 

Hancock has a record of 1-3.  The Owls will host Ashby on Friday in another Little Eight Conference contest.