The East Clinton eighth grade boys basketball team was defeated by Hillsboro in a back and forth game 39-36 Thursday night.

The young Astros, now 7-4 on the year, missed a 3-pointer at the end that could have tied the game, coach Eli Hogsett said. The coach was pleased with his team’s defensive effort but was not happy with the offense. “Offensively, we looked flat,” he said.

Branson Smith led EC with 23 points. Dylan Peterman had 5 points and Kaleb Kingory added 2.