Hills-Beaver Creek senior post Jesse Leuthold prepares to shoot the ball during Monday’s 59-56 boys’ basketball win over Sioux Falls Christian in Hills. Leuthold scored six points to help the Patriots win their 10th straight game.
By John Rittenhouse
A second-half comeback by the Hills-Beaver Creek boys’ basketball team gave the Patriots a 59-56 victory over Sioux Falls Christian in Hills Monday.
H-BC’s nine-game winning streak appeared to be at risk when the Chargers sported three- and two-point edges at the end of first two quarters.
The Patriots, however, rallied to outscore SFC 36-31 in the second half to win by three and secure their 10th straight win.
H-BC will go for its 11th consecutive victory when it travels to Adrian Tuesday.
Monday’s game against the Chargers was a battle.
H-BC trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half and faced a five-point deficit in the third quarter using three runs in the second half to win the game.
SFC, which led 25-23 at the intermission, led 30-25 in the early stages of the third quarter.
H-BC tied the game at 32 with a field goal from Kale Wiertzema at the 3:07 mark of the third quarter and gained its first lead since early in the first quarter when Trey Van Wyhe connected for another field goal with 2:40 remaining to give the Patriots a 34-33 edge.
The field goals were a part of a 12-2 run that gave the Patriots a 37-32 lead, but a late three by SFC made it a 37-35 game heading into the final eight minutes of play.
H-BC opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run capped by two free throws from Wiertzema with 5:59 remaining that gave the Patriots their biggest lead of the game at 45-35.
SFC countered with a 12-4 surge to trim H-BC’s lead to two points (49-47) with 2:25 left to play.
H-BC then made seven free throws (three by Tyson Metzger, two by Wiertzema and two by Tyler Bush) to extend its lead to nine points at 56-47 with 36 seconds remaining.
SFC outscored the Patriots 9-3, but the Chargers didn’t have a possession in which they could have tied the game during that span.
H-BC scored the first four points of the game before the Chargers went on a 7-0 run to take a 7-4 lead before sporting a 9-6 lead at period’s end.
The Chargers outscored H-BC 13-6 in the first four minutes of the second period to open a 22-12 advantage. H-BC put together an 8-0 run capped by a pair of charity shots from Bush to trail 22-20, and it remained behind by two points at halftime.
Van Wyhe led the Patriots with 22 points and nine rebounds in the game, while Wiertzema added seven assists, six rebounds and 12 points. Jesse Leuthold pulled down six rebounds.
The 17-4 Patriots outscored the Chargers 23-7 at the free-throw line during the game.
Box score
Bush 0 0 7-8 7, Wysong 0 0 0-0 0, Roozenboom 1 0 0-0 2, Broesder 0 0 2-2 2, Wiertzema 1 2 4-7 12, Metzger 1 0 6-8 8, Van Wyhe 9 0 4-4 22, Leuthold 2 0 0-0 6.
Team statistics
H-BC: 17 of 40 field goals (43 percent), 23 of 29 free throws (79 percent), 34 rebounds, 14 turnovers.
SFC: 17 of 50 field goals (34 percent), seven of eight free throws (88 percent), 14 rebounds, 14 turnovers.
