Hillsboro Christian Academy wins pair over Fayette Christian

By Colin Ryan
The Highland County Press

Hillsboro Christian Academy played host to Fayette Christian School in a pair of varsity basketball games on Monday, Dec. 11. The HCA Crusaders came from behind to win their game by a final score of 51-49, while the HCA Lady Crusaders won, 31-29.

The HCA Lady Crusaders were led in scoring by Emma Korte with 12 points and Lisa VanZant with eight points. The FCS Lady Crusaders were led in scoring by Scarlett Cockerill with eleven points and Fanny Persinger with eight points.

The first quarter was led off by a three-point basket by VanZant who finished the quarter with five points. Sophomore Annie Henderson supplied four points for the HCA Lady Crusaders as well, giving them an early 9-4 lead after the first quarter.

The FCS Lady Crusaders came back in the second quarter; however, scoring nine points of their own. Korte scored all six points for the HCA Lady Crusaders in the second quarter. The HCA Lady Crusaders led at halftime 15-13.

Freshman Emma Barnett came into the game off the bench for the HCA Lady Crusaders and scored three points in the third quarter. VanZant supplied two points of her own, bringing the teams total for the quarter to five. The FCS Lady Crusaders closed the gap between the teams, tying the game just before the end of the quarter with a basket by Tori Peterson with 3.3 seconds left to go in the quarter.

The HCA Lady Crusaders best quarter offensively was the fourth quarter as they scored eleven points. Korte added six more points to her total, giving her 12 for the game. Barnett and Kari Flowers each scored two points for the HCA Lady Crusaders. VanZant went one for two from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. The FCS Lady Crusaders scored nine points in the fourth quarter, falling just short of sending the game into overtime.

The HCA Lady Crusaders improve to 5-2 on the season. Their next game will be at Scioto Christian on December 15. The HCA Lady Crusaders played Scioto Christian earlier this season and look to add another win to their season.

The HCA Crusaders finished with three players with double-digit points with Bryson Willey scoring 14 points, Hayden Tong scoring 12 points and Joshua Baggs scoring ten. Jake Crichton led the FCS Crusaders in scoring with 20 points with Brady Bumpus scoring 14 points of his own.

The FCS Crusaders led the game after the first quarter 17-10. Willey and Tong were the only HCA Crusaders to score in the first quarter with six and four respectively.

Sophomore Jonah Brannon came in off the bench for the HCA Crusaders in the second quarter and supplied five points for the team. Tong shot one for two from the free-throw line in the second quarter. Willey added five more points to his total in the second quarter. Baggs scored his first two points of the game in the quarter. The HCA Crusaders still trailed at halftime 31-23.

The HCA Crusaders scored eleven points in the third quarter, six coming from Connor Henderson, Willey with three and Tong with two. The FCS Crusaders added 13 of their own to extend their lead to 44-34 going into the fourth quarter.

Defensively, the HCA Crusaders’ best quarter was the fourth quarter as they held the FCS Crusaders to only five points. It was also the best quarter offensively for the HCA Crusaders as they scored 17 points. Baggs led the charge for the HCA Crusaders with eight points in the final quarter. Tong brought his total for the game to 12 points as he scored five points in the fourth quarter. Brannon came back into the game and shot one for two from the freethrow line. Sophomore Titus Howsman came in off the bench and sank a three-point basket for the HCA Crusaders. The HCA Crusaders pulled ahead in the final seconds of the fourth quarter and held on to a 51-49 victory.

The Crusaders improve to 6-2 on the season. Their next opponent is Scioto Christian on Dec. 15. 

Below, Emma Barnett scores two of her five points on this play against Fayette Christian School.