HILLSBORO – Tipping off the season with one player who had any significant playing time at the varsity level, Wilmington ran away from Hillsboro 52-31 at the Ohio Valley Hoops Classic at Hillsboro High School.
Wilmington scored 22 of the last 24 points. It held the Indians without a field goal for the last 12:32 of the game.
“We wrote down three things on the board tonight, which I thought we really had in the second half — poise, discipline and conditioning,” WHS head coach Mike Noszka said. “Probably the poise (surpised me the most tonight). Even when we were up 10 going into the fourth quarter, you have a young team, if you turn the ball over once or twice, they can cut it to six and it can unravel on you. I know these kids have some toughness. I know their conditioning is good. I know we’re going to get better throughout the year. But the poise for a young team was solid.”
The Hurricane’s poise was no more evident when it fell into a pair of six-point holes in the first half — 10-4 and 23-17.
Wilmington rattled off the final six points of the half to take a 24-23 lead into the break.
“Hillsboro had some looks, but I thought a lot of their looks, especially in the second half, were forced,” Noszka said. “We were pushing them to the baseline and they were shooting some contested shots. We guarded that 42 feet very, very well tonight.”
“When I think back to the first half, when we got down six, (I think about) the unity of the young kids sticking in there. These kids believe in each other.”
Wilmington’s lone returning starter and game MVP Cameron Coomer led all scorers with 17 points. Steven Sweeney and Chris Custis joined Coomer in double-figures with 10 each.
Brad Miller led Hillsboro with 11 points.
SUMMARY
HHS – 12 11 7 1 – 31
WHS – 13 11 18 10 – 52
WHS (52) – Coomer 7-1-17, Sweeney 3-2-10, Custis 4-2-10, Butcher 2-2-6, Stewart 0-0-0, Anicic 4-0-9, Spears 0-0-0, Jones 0-0-0, Brooks 0-0-0. Total 20-7-52. 3-point goals: 5 (Coomer 2, Sweeney 2, Anicic). FTM-FTA 7-10, 70 percent.
HHS (31) – Swayne 2-1-6, Temple 0-0-0, Magulac 0-2-2, Scott 2-2-7, Miller 5-1-11, Watson 1-0-2, Clark 1-0-3, Bloomfield 0-0-0. Total 11-6-31. 3-point goals: 3 (Swayne, Scott, Clark). FTM-FTA 6-12, 50 percent.
