By John Rittenhouse
Hills-Beaver Creek slipped to 0-2 in the Tri-County Conference boys' basketball race when it received a 59-50 setback at Edgerton Public School Friday.
The Flying Dutchmen opened a four-point lead by halftime and fought off all H-BC challenges in the second half to win by nine points.
The game was a tight one throughout, but H-BC had trouble putting the ball in the basket on a consistent basis in a game that was decided by shooting efficiency.
"We're just not shooting the ball very well right now," said Patriot coach Steve Wiertzema. "We shot 31 percent from the floor and 44 percent from the line. You can work as hard as you want, but you still have to get some baskets now and then."
H-BC played through its shooting woes while battling the flying Dutchmen to a draw at 13 in the first quarter, but Edgerton opened a 29-25 lead by halftime and led by four (38-34) entering the fourth quarter.
The Flying Dutchmen outscored the Patriots 21-16 in the fourth quarter.
Darin and Lyle DeBoer turned in solid performances for H-BC. Darin DeBoer netted a team-high 14 points and registered three assists. Lyle DeBoer canned four three-point shots for 12 counters. He also charted six rebounds and three assists.
Matt Buck led H-BC with 11 rebounds. Lance Crawford and Brad Haak collected six caroms each.
Box score
D.DeBoer 2 3 3-3 14, Fransman 0 0 1-2 1, Haak 3 0 1-6 7, L.DeBoer 0 4 0-0 12, Top 0 0 3-5 3, Crawford 2 0 0-2 4, Buck 3 1 0-0 9.
Team statistics
H-BC: 17 of 55 field goals (31 percent), eight of 18 free throws (44 percent), 34 rebounds, 17 turnovers.
Edgerton: 22 of 54 field goals (41 percent), five of eight free throws (63 percent), 20 rebounds, 10 turnovers.