Hillsdale boys basketball silences the Hudson Tigers' defense with 61 points
HILLSDALE — The rivalry between Hudson and Hillsdale is known for its' low scoring basketball games and clashes on the gridiron and volleyball courts. Most recently, the boys basketball rivalry between the two LCAA schools has been fueled by low scoring, chippy defensive battles.
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On Thursday night, the Hornets broke that precedent by dominating a 61-31 final against the Tigers. The 30-point differential is the biggest in more than two seasons for the two schools and it's the first time either team has scored 40 or more points in the past five matchups (including Thursday's lopsided win).
The Hornets complete the sweep of the Tigers this season, having won their last matchup on Dec. 14 by a 37-34 points total.
The win also snapped a four game losing streak for coach Rob Salisbury's squad and keeps them above .500 at 8-6 on the year. Considering the team had won just three games up to this point last year, the season so far has been a marked improvement for Hillsdale despite the mindset of the players being that they have yet to reach their full potential.
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One of the players with that mindset is senior Jack Bowles, who once-again led the team with a total of 20 points, three steals, two assists and a rebound. Bowles nearly led this Hornet team to an upset of AP No. 9 ranked Dundee last Friday during homecoming. That might have been the team's best game of the season despite the loss.
With that game and Thursday's win as motivation, Bowles hopes it can continue to fuel the team's desire to get better each week, especially as they stare down a rematch with Onsted on the road next Friday.
"These last couple games we have played, we've played with some crazy effort," Bowles said. "We came out against the two top teams in the league (last week) and kept it close, took the Vikings to double overtime and lost, which sucked. But I think we are just finally bringing it now and we realize how good we can really be. We can be a top 3 team in our league. If we keep coming out like this, we aren't going to lose many games."
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Helping Bowles earn the W on Thursday night was junior Jace Lennox, who had 13 points, four steals and one assist. Brody Adams had 10 points, including a third quarter 3-pointer, six defensive rebounds, three steals and one assist. Casper Overbye had six points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Ryan Bernard had five rebounds and one assist, alongside two points.
The Hornets managed to do a full bench rotation in the second portion of the fourth quarter. Evan Towne had a 3-pointer. Grant Good had five points.
For Hudson, Jones had 10 points. Arnett had six points.
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Hillsdale hosts Grass Lake on Tuesday, Jan. 30. Grass Lake is currently 6-7 on the year. The Warriors have faced similar opponents this season. They lost to Jonesville by 19 points to start January and lost to Adrian Madison.
They close the week off with that Friday matchup against Onsted. Onsted currently sits at 9-4 and beat Hillsdale 67-52 on Jan. 16. Both games start at 7 p.m. following J.V. basketball.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Hillsdale boys basketball silences the Hudson Tigers' defense with 61 points
