A pair of KCII area boys basketball teams played a defensive grinder Saturday at Highland High School as the visiting Hillcrest Ravens scored a 41-36 win over the Huskies. The game was back and forth most of the day, with Highland leading 12-7 after the first eight minutes, and the Ravens countering in the second period 19-11 to take a 26-23 lead into the half. Out of the break, Hillcrest would score just one point in the third quarter, but the Huskies were limited to just six as both defenses dug in and Highland took a 29-27 lead to the fourth. Early in the fourth quarter, the Ravens got their only field goal of the second half, an Eli Ours baseline jumper. The Raven defense and foul shooting was enough to keep Highland at bay down the stretch. After the game, Hillcrest head coach Dwight Gingerich talked about his team’s defense and the overall effort to collect a tough win. “I think both teams are worn down a little bit. We talked about it before the game, we’re tired, but they have to be tired too. This is their fourth game of the week and our third, fourth in eight days. It was tough to get shots to fall but I thought both teams played hard defensively. I thought we adjusted better in the second half. They were hurting us with their high-low. We did a better job taking that away in the third quarter by rotating someone over. We were much more aggressive. I thought Aidan Krabill, Aaron Hershberger and John Hughes did a great job on the boards. Our guards were much more active. We weren’t really scoring, but we were making things difficult for them.”

John Hughes led Hillcrest with 16 points. Ours had 14. Tristan Stokes led Highland with 14 points. With the win, the Ravens are now 8-5, Highland falls to 3-6.