(December 13, 2014) – WEST UNITY: The Pilots remained out of the reach of the Cadets on Saturday night.
Hilltop hosted Ayersville for the evening, and they struggled mightily against the Green Meadows Conference opponent. The Cadets lost the game 75-51.
Down 19-29 at halftime, it was the third quarter that put the game out of the Hilltop boys’ reach. During the period, the Cadets were outscored 28-9, giving Ayersville a 29 point lead going into the last stanza. Hilltop never stopped fighting, though, and they were able to claw back to within 20 points before ending the game with a 24 point loss.
A major issue in the game was the Cadet defense. They allowed the Pilots to shoot 53% from the floor, which equates to them making every other attempt they took. A large portion of those points came in the paint, where Hilltop had a difficult time matching up with Ayersville. The Pilot boys were 60% from within the arc.
Hilltop also shot pretty well in the game. As a team, they were 40% from the floor. Most of their points came from the inside as well, though the Cadets did show off a strong mid-range game. They shot 46% from inside the three-point line.
The Pilots also flexed their muscle from the bench, having 11 players scoring in the game. The Cadets actually weren’t intimidated by this, as they had 11 boys see time, though not all of them registered points.
That depth did allow Ayersville to have continuous energy on their full-court press, however. This is something they did often, and with great aggression at that. The Cadets didn’t figure out how to beat the press until the fourth period, and even then it was a battle getting the ball down the court.
It was this press that led to a plethora of Hilltop turnovers. By the end of the game, the Cadets had turned the ball over 21 times. Most of those mistakes led to easy attempts at the basket for Ayersville, which they converted into points and trips to the free throw line.
The charity stripe was another area where the Cadets needed to have a better performance in order to win this game. Shooting 70%, they made most of their attempts from the line. The problem laid with how many attempts they took from the free throw line, however. They went 7 for 10, not earning nearly enough extra point attempts. In contrast, the Pilots made 16 of their 28 free throw shots, good for only 57%. Though they carried a lower percentage for the line, Ayersville still made more free throws than Hilltop attempted, a statistic that will lead to victory most of the time.
The Hilltop scoring effort was led by Jalen Towers, who put up 15 points. Quinn Smith and Tim Maneval each contributed 11 points in the game. Ryan Brooker added 8 points.
Smith scored most of his points late in the game, attempting to will his team to a miraculous comeback. He made several difficult, ill-advised shots, though he missed his fair share of them as well. Only a sophomore, he still has much to learn in the way of team basketball, but though his efforts were a bit misguided, his performance was still admirable.
This is the first time Hilltop has been defeated so thoroughly this season. How they respond will likely determine the outcome of their next game.