By Kenton Brooks
Hilldale’s boys basketball team has a flair for last-second dramatics, particularly when the Hornets play Chouteau. This time, Hunter Johnson was the deciding factor.
Johnson’s layup with 4.1 seconds left in the game lifted the Hornets to a 51-50 victory against the Wildcats at the Hilldale Event Center on Tuesday night.
A last-second blocked shot by Corey Hill helped the Hornets preserve the 60-59 win against the Wildcats in the season opener on Dec. 1.
In Tuesday’s thriller, Johnson took a pass from Mike Green before moving in for the layup.
“We like to keep the coaches’ stress level up,” Johnson said with a smile. “Playing like that really helps us to stay in the game. It feels good to win this game. We’ve beaten them four times the last two years and I’m glad we kept going with our winning against them.”
Johnson finished with 10 points as did Trey Kirkpatrick. Mike Green, sinking 3 of 5 shots in the second period, led the Hornets with 13.
The unranked Hornets improved to 14-6. Coach Jeremy Rogers’ voice was hoarse, but he was able to sigh in relief after his team won their third straight game and fourth in the last five.
“It was a big win against a quality team,” he said. “We were able to hold on. It seems it’s always like that when we play Chouteau.”
The Wildcats tried for the game-winning shot, but Zac Duck’s inbounds pass bounced off the backboard with 2.2 seconds left in the game and Green got the rebound to close out the game.
Chouteau dropped to 11-7. Josh Anderson paced the Wildcats with 17 points and 6-foot-4 sophomore Dwight McElroy added 12.
The Wildcats battled back into the game to make it thrilling at the end. With Hilldale leading 41-30 after three quarters, Chouteau outscored the Hornets 7-1 to cut the deficit to 46-44 with 2:31 left in the game.
Later, McElroy’s two free throws with 1:26 left gave the Wildcats their first lead (49-47) since 5:11 left in the first half.
Hilldale tied it at 49-49 with 1:06 remaining and Anderson put Chouteau ahead 50-49 with 24 seconds left.
Hilldale returns to the Event Center on Friday to play Fort Gibson on Senior Night.
Girls
Hilldale 51,
Chouteau 43
Jaycie Cox and the Lady Hornets are on a roll.
Cox made three straight 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to power the Lady Hornets to a victory. It marks the first time in coach Lachelle Brown’s two years as coach for Hilldale to win back-to-back games. The Lady Hornets beat Mannford 54-47 this past Saturday.
Cox finished with a game-high 18 points on Tuesday.
“I was feeling it,” she said about her shooting. “I got my feet set and was able to start hitting my shots. It always feels good to win.”
Cox made three 3-pointers in the win against Mannford.
Brown was happy for her after they won their fourth game in 20 outings this season.
“We played four quarters and we played together,” she said. “That was a big win for us. I’m happy to keep winning and have momentum going into the playoffs.”
Becky Anderson led the Lady Hornets with 14 points.
None of the Lady Wildcats (9-9) scored in double figures, but Catterina Browning led the scoring with nine points. Adrienne Rogers added eight.
