Saints stave off Central Springs
By Kristi Nixon
MANLY — Much like the varsity girls’ game before it, the St. Ansgar boys’ basketball team built a heavy lead and hung on for a two-point win over Central Springs.
Co-coaches Jason Squier and Eric Kline’s team got out to an 8-0 lead and extended it to 17-4 after the first quarter in a 51-49 victory over the Panthers at Manly in the Saints’ opener on Tuesday, Nov. 28.
“They’re a good team,” Squier said. “We knew going in they were a good team and there is no quit in them. That’s the conference again this year. The boys conference on our side is good and that’s what it is going to be like every night out – a battle every single night. That’s what we talked about.
“We seemed to attack the 2-3 (zone) pretty good early and when our outside shots weren’t falling, it just got a little rattled. Tip my hat to them, they stopped our fast break points, which helped us out in the first half, and they did a good job of trying to take (senior post Hunter) Hill(man) away in the middle.”
Hillman, who led all scorers with 17, had 15 by halftime. However, the Panthers made defensive adjustments in the second half, sometimes collapsing as many as four, oftentimes three, on him every time he touched the ball following a pair of first-half rim-rattling dunks. He finished with a double-double, adding 13 rebounds and tallied six blocked shots, which had him in the top-five in the state following the opening two days.
“We’re really happy – all the boys played hard,” Squier said. “We knew coming in every night we’re going to have to give it our all and proud of them – the year of growth and maturity helped them in the tight situations.”
