By John Rittenhouse
Some clutch free-throw shooting by the Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots gave them a berth in the semifinals of the South Section 3A Boys' Basketball Tournament Saturday.
Taking on No. 5 Murray County Central in a quarterfinal-round tilt in Worthington, the fourth-seeded Patriots drained five free throws in the game's final 1:20 to secure a 61-56 victory over the Rebels.
The win ups H-BC’s record to 15-8 heading into tonight’s semifinals in Worthington, where the team takes on top-seeded Southwest Christian at 6 p.m.
SWC, the three-time defending state champions, ousted Adrian 66-44 during another quarterfinal round game played Saturday.
The Eagles and Patriots have met two times during the regular season. SWC won both times, but the game played in Edgerton Feb. 19 was a tight one (59-54).
Saturday's clash against the Rebels also was up for grabs at the end of the game.
The teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 46, and the score was knotted at 56 as time was winding down.
Patriot junior guard Darin DeBoer, who had not scored a point in the game, gave the Patriots a 58-56 lead when he drained a pair of free throws.
DeBoer added another free throw after Brad Haak made a pair in the game’s final minute to ice a five-point Patriot win.
All things considered, free throws gave the Patriots their victory. H-BC outscored the Rebels 19-6 at the stripe during the game.
The game's first half featured both teams sporting two-point cushions at the quarter breaks.
H-BC played its way to a 15-13 edge during the first eight minutes of play. MCC countered by outscoring the Patriots 22-18 in the third quarter to gain a 35-33 edge at the intermission.
The Patriots tied the game at 46 with a 13-11 scoring cushion in the third quarter before outscoring MCC 15-10 in the final eight minutes of play.
Senior David Top carried the Patriots to victory by scoring a game-high 34 points. Top made 10 of 16 field goals in the game, and he canned both of his attempts from three-point land. Top was 12 of 12 at the charity stripe.
Haak, who scored 12 points and made all five of his field goals in the game, also turned in a solid effort. He had six rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Top and Matt Buck led the Patriots with eight rebounds each. Lyle DeBoer contributed four assists to the win.
Box score
D.DeBoer 0 0 3-4 3, Van Maanen 0 0 0-0 0, Haak 5 0 2-5 12, Leuthold 0 0 0-0 0, L.DeBoer 2 0 0-2 4, Van Wyhe 0 0 1-2 1, Top 8 2 12-12 34, Buck 3 0 1-2 7.
Team statistics
H-BC: 20 of 40 field goals (50 percent), 19 of 27 free throws (70 percent), 31 rebounds, 18 turnovers.
MCC: 23 of 50 field goals (46 percent), six of eight free throws (75 percent), 22 rebounds, 18 turnovers.