Caleb Riordan | Ameritime Sports Writer
The Hillsboro Hawks Junior Varsity squad struggles against the Sullivan Eagles, but bounces back to beat the Fox Warriors.
The Hawks had a long night against Sullivan. They had some difficulty scoring and also had trouble slowing down the Eagles’ offense. Josh Allison scored 11 points and did his best to keep the Hawks competitive, which included three shots from three-point land. Tyler Tieken had six points, Zach Reynolds, Christian Groner and Jonah Allison all had four points and Jaxon Day was the only other Hawk to score. He had three points.
Hillsboro had a solid first half with 22 points, but slowed down dramatically in the second with only ten points across the third and fourth quarters. Sullivan won and secured the blowout win to drop the Hawks to 6-10.
Hillsboro had a much better showing against Fox. They were more effective on the offensive end straight from the tip. Day started on fire and hit four threes in the first quarter. The Hawks scored 16 in the first and held the Warriors to ten. Things tightened up in the second though as Hillsboro and Fox each scored six in the quarter. The Hawks went into the half with a 22-16 lead.
Fox came out of the half ready to cut into the Hawks’ lead. Josh Allison and Day each hit a three that helped Hillsboro to eight points in the quarter, but Fox began to creep back into the game and scored ten of their own. Hillsboro was suddenly clinging to a four-point lead at the start of the fourth.
It was again Josh Allison with a timely free-throw and three-pointer in the quarter to help sustain the Hawks’ lead. Fox outscored Hillsboro in the fourth, but the Hawks did enough to secure the 40-39 win that bumped their record to 7-10.
Day finished the night as the team’s leading scorer with 18 points. Josh Allison was second with 11 points of his own. Reynolds and Tieken each had four points. Groner and Payton Brown each had a basket as well.
Hillsboro learned from the Sullivan loss and look to build off their success against Fox. The next challenge for the junior varsity Hawks will be the Cape Central Tigers. That game is Tuesday, Feb. 5.
