By John Rittenhouse
Hills-Beaver Creek put a scare into two-time defending state champion Southwest Christian before succumbing to a late Eagle rally during a quarterfinal-round game of the South Section 3A Boys' Basketball Tournament in Luverne Saturday.
H-BC, the tournament's eighth seed, gave SWC all it could handle during the first three and one-half quarters of play.
The No. 1 Eagles rose to the challenge late in the game by putting together a 14-2 run that secured a 52-42 victory for the favorites.
"Our kids really played well," said Patriot coach Steve Wiertzema.
"We played well defensively, and we rebounded well. I couldn't ask any more from our kids in that respect. SWC went 10 of 12 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, and Jeff Schaap scored 10 points for them in the fourth quarter. They went to their experienced player, and he carried them through the fourth quarter."
The 10-point difference at game's end was not indicative of how tight the contest was.
SWC led 13-12 after eight minutes of play, but H-BC countered with a 10-8 scoring edge in the second quarter to gain a 22-21 halftime edge.
The Patriots led 35-32 at the end of the third quarter before their 8-15 campaign came to an end when SWC outscored them 20-7 in the final eight minutes of play.
H-BC sported a 40-38 lead late in the game before SWC's 14-2 run settled the issue.
According to Wiertzema, H-BC's inability to cash in on its free throws (six of 21 overall) proved to be the difference in the game.
"It was the killer. We were two of 14 from the line in the first half," he said.
David Top netted 11 points for H-BC, while Lance Crawford led the way with 10 rebounds. Matt Buck charted five assists and three steals. Lyle DeBoer added four assists.
Box score
D.DeBoer 1 0 1-2 3, Haak 2 0 2-7 6, L.DeBoer 2 0 0-1 4, Van Wyhe 3 0 0-0 6, Top 2 2 1-6 11, Crawford 2 0 2-4 6, Buck 3 0 0-1 6.
Team statistics
H-BC: 17 of 34 field goals (50 percent), six of 21 free throws (28 percent), 26 rebounds, 20 turnovers.
SWC: 19 of 44 field goals (43 percent), 11 of 18 free throws (61 percent), 20 rebounds, 11 turnovers.