For the second straight Saturday, the Area Game of the Week will feature a scrimmage between the Hillcrest Academy Ravens and Sigourney Savages, this time on the boys side.

The Hillcrest boys will be eager to get the new season underway when they hit Dwight Gingerich Court this afternoon. The Ravens come off of a 15-8 2023-24 campaign which includes a 10-5 mark in the SEISC North. All five Hillcrest starters return in 2024, including senior standout Seth Ours, who scored 370 points, doled out 70 assists, shot a blazing 49.3 percent from three, and made 86 percent of his free throws. The Raven leader in rebounds returns in Mason Bender. Bender’s 123 boards were a team-high along with his nine blocks. Junior Rowan Miller also returns, and was the team leader in handing out assists with 114. Last season, Hillcrest put up north of 55 points-per-game and gave up shy of 45, shooting 45 percent from the field, 37.3 percent from beyond the perimeter, and 62.1 percent from the charity stripe. The Ravens pulled down nearly 25 boards per game, passed out 16 assists, had over nine steals, and were turned over less than 13 times.

The Sigourney Savage boys also have reason to get excited about the new basketball season, as they also return all five starters from last season. Sigourney finished last season 13-9 overall and 10-7 in the SICL East. Senior Isaac Bruns returns to the Sigourney lineup after a successful junior season in which he scored a team-high 309 points. Junior John Berg had a team-high 185 rebounds, while sophomore Ike Molyneux returns as the leader in assists and steals with 89 and 61, respectively. Per game, the Savages scored close to 57 points and gave up slightly more than 47, shooting 36.1 percent from the field, 27.6 percent from three, and 59.2 percent from the line. Sigourney averaged over 33 boards, 10 steals, and four blocks a contest.

Hillcrest seniors Seth Ours, Bryce Bailey, Mason Helmuth, and Mason Bender talked with KCII Sports at practice on Thursday to talk about their goals for the season. “As a team, any team wants to go to state. I think we do have a chance this year. We’ll have to work hard, and I think it would be really special with this group of guys after playing together for so long,” Ours said.

“That’s probably the main goal for most teams,” Bailey said about making it to state. “I feel like people on our team feel like we have a good chance this year, and we know that we can get there. We know that it’s not going to be easy to do.”

“I just want to leave it all on the court, and have no regrets,” Helmuth said.

“I don’t have any goals stats-wise personally. I’m leaving it all out there so I don’t have any regrets,” Bender said.

Sigourney Head Coach Mitch Eslick talked with KCII Sports to preview the season. “We know the floor for this team is probably 13-14 wins like we had last year, but I feel like the ceiling is a lot higher this year than it was last year,” Eslick said. “Just having that balance, and not having