By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek boys' basketball team got February off to a promising start when it secured a 73-62 Red Rock Conference victory over Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin in Hills Friday.
The Patriots, who won seven straight games during the month of January, extended their season-long winning streak to eight games with an 11-point win over the Wolverines.
Solid shooting performances from the field by seniors David Top and Matt Buck set the stage for H-BC's win.
Top, who had 12 rebounds for the Patriots, hit a pair of three-point shots and was nine of 16 (53 percent) from the field overall while netting a team-high 29 points.
Buck, who had five assists and a team-high 14 rebounds, connected on nine of 17 field goals (53 percent) and finished the game with 19 counters.
After falling behind 17-15 in the first quarter, H-BC started to assert itself in the second period.
The Patriots outscored ML-B-O 24-15 in the second stanza to gain a 39-32 halftime lead.
H-BC used a 21-18 scoring edge in the third quarter to make it a 60-50 difference before winning by 11 in the end.
Brad Haak had a 10-point, nine-rebound performance for the Patriots.
Lyle DeBoer paced the Patriots with six assists and three steals, while Jesse Leuthold added five assists.
A 46-27 rebounding advantage and 49 percent shooting from the field were keys to victory for H-BC.
Box score
D.DeBoer 3 0 1-3 7, Van Maanen 1 0 0-0 2, Haak 4 0 2-4 10, Leuthold 1 0 0-2 2, L.DeBoer 2 0 0-2 4, Top 7 2 9-18 29, Buck 9 0 1-3 19.
Team statistics
H-BC: 29 of 59 field goals (49 percent), 13 of 32 free throws (41 percent), 46 rebounds, 15 turnovers.
ML-B-O: 23 of 54 field goals (43 percent), 10 of 16 free throws (63 percent), 27 rebounds, 11 turnovers.