KALONA

Tournament time kicked off at home for Hillcrest and in the first half Central City kept pace with the Ravens, but this trend did not continue into the pivotal third quarter.

Going on a 20-6 run in the third to take a commanding lead, Hillcrest (20-3) earned a 64-48 win over Central City (7-15) last Monday in the first round of the 1A district tournament.

“I thought the third quarter was of the decisive quarter. We outscored them 20-6, that was the difference in the game,” Hillcrest head coach Dwight Gingerich said about the playoff win over Central City.

While Hillcrest led the majority of the way in the first half, Central City never let their deceit get out of hand and only trailed by five at halftime.

“[Central City] being a seven seed was really kind of a misleading deal,” coach Gingerich said. “We knew that they were going to be a tough out and a very good team and I wasn’t surprised by the competitiveness of it.”

Making big buckets all night for Central City was Matthew Klostermann. The six-foot senior guard played phenomenally on offense, leading all scorers with 26-points and kept the Wildcats in the game until the third quarter came around where Hillcrest’s defense limited Central City to just six points.

“The thing we should be most proud of is that [Central City] only scored six in the third quarter,” Hillcrest senior Mason Bender said. “It was a huge run for us, and it really put us up in the game.”

Central City bounced back with a 17-point performance in the final frame but the damage had already been done and Hillcrest emerged victorious in the first round of the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year. 

In the postseason experience is invaluable and for Hillcrest they have that in spades. Led by Bender scoring a team high 21-points, the Ravens had three seniors reach double digits in the scoring department.

“It was all because of great passes for my teammates setting me up,” Bender said about how he was able to lead the team in scoring. “Sometimes they double down and I’d kick out. Sometimes they’d let me go to work inside. I was just feeling hot.”

Seniors Seth Ours and Bryce Bailey added 12 and 14 points respectively. All four seniors contributed greatly in the win with Mason Helmuth coming off the bench to make some clutch shots and grab some tough rebounds.

“We’ve grown up playing together. We’ve all played together, all of us seniors since second grade, so we know each other really well,” Bender said about the camaraderie he shares with his senior teammates. “We’re close friends, and we’ve got that team chemistry that most teams don’t have.”

Moving onto the next round of postseason play, the Ravens will face Keota (19-3) on Feb. 20, a rematch from a regular season game where Hillcrest got the best of the Eagles.

“We played them once already this season, and we beat them. But to be honest, the score is a little bit misleading,” Bender said about the upcoming rematch with Keota. “They’re a very solid team. Our shots were falling that night, and theirs weren’t, and sometimes that’s how it goes. So, we’re gonna have to come out and bring our A game, just like we did tonight.”

“It’s going to be a very different and very determined Keota team that we’ll see Thursday night,” coach Gingerich said.

GAME STATS

CENTRAL CITY 48, HILLCREST 64

Central City  15  10   6  17 -- 48

Hillcrest        19  11  20  14--  64