Hills-Beaver Creek junior guard Zach Wysong dribble past a Southwest Christian defender during Tuesday's boys' basketball game in Edgerton.By John RittenhouseThe Hills-Beaver Creek boys’ basketball team was unable to even its annual season series with Southwest Christian when the teams met in Edgerton Tuesday.SWC, which topped the Patriots by three points when the teams squared off in Hills Jan. 10, won another thriller when it topped H-BC 66-62 Tuesday.The Patriots did battle back to tie the score late in the game, but some foul trouble by H-BC and some clutch play by the Eagles late in the game settled the issue."We came back well," said Patriot coach Steve Wiertzema. "We got into foul trouble (starters Tyler Bush and Trey Van Wyhe fouled out) and that hurt us."SWC opened a 15-9 lead in the first eight minutes of play, but the Eagles couldn’t pull away from the Patriots.H-BC whittled the advantage down to four points (33-29) at halftime, and the Patriots trailed 48-47 after three periods of play.H-BC tied the game with 1:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, but SWC drained a three-point shot to regain the lead and went on to win by four points.Kale Wiertzema turned in a strong performance for the Patriots by scoring 24 points, passing for seven assists and recording three steals.Zach Wysong chipped in 17 points, and Van Wyhe came down with 10 rebounds.The 11-7 Patriots (6-4 in the RRC) host Murray County Central Friday before playing a road tilt against Sioux Falls Christian Monday.Box scoreBush 1 0 2-4 4, Wysong 4 2 3-4 17, Broesder 1 0 2-2 4, Wiertzema 5 1 11-14 24, Van Wyhe 3 0 3-3 9, Spykerboer 0 0 0-2 0, LeBoutillier 2 0 0-0 4.Team statisticsH-BC: 19 of 50 field goals (38 percent), 21 of 29 free throws (72 percent), 34 rebounds, eight turnovers.SWC: 25 of 55 field goals (45 percent), 10 of 20 free throws (50 percent), 29 rebounds, nine turnovers.
