Sports News

Christmas came early this year for Hillsboro’s two basketball teams.

The Burros swept the MayPort-CG Patriots in a Dec. 20 doubleheader at the Hillsboro Events Center.

The girls beat MPCG easily, 42-27, while the boys team needed two clutch free throws from sophomore Zack Grothmann with 1.3 seconds left on the clock to edge the Patriots, 33-31. 

The girls, who stopped Griggs County Central the next night, improved to 5-2. The MPCG win gave the Burro boys team a 2-1 record.

Both teams played yesterday (Thursday) in the Mayville State Comet Classic. The girls met Norman County West and the boys played Maple Valley.

Coach Elliot Rotvold’s boys team plays again next Thursday (Jan. 3) at home against Thompson.

The girls, coached by Kyle Morehart, are at Moorhead Park Christian next Saturday (Jan. 5).

The two wins last Thursday at the Events Center were neither classic nor artistic, this being the season of Christmas superlatives, but they still count as wins in the record book.

The boys had to scrap and fight for their win, acknowledged Rotvold.

“It was a nice win, but it was tough from the outset. When you don’t  play well on offense, you have to scrap and fight and we did.”

Morehart also appreciated the district victory. But, he promised “better days” ahead.

The Burros had a good defensive game but on offense he described the veteran team’s effort as lackluster.

“It’s always nice to get a district win, no matter how it comes.”

The Burro girls responded the next night at Cooperstown with a “super all-around game,” said their coach.

The game went down to the wire, with Hillsboro winning 56-53. “The girls attacked offensively and created opportunities,” Morehart said.

“Maggie (Evenson) and Katrina (Meyer) really shot the ball well, and Joelle (Evenson) and Brittany (Wilson) hit some key free throws down the stretch.”

The game was tied at 29 at the half.

Joelle Evenson scored 19 points in the Griggs County win. Maggie Evenson added 14 and Meyer 13. Meyer and Wilson each had 10 points in the win over the Mayville-Portland-Clifford Galesburg Patriots.

MayPort-CG had a slim 17-16 lead over the Burros in the low-scoring boys game last Thursday night.

Just 5 points were scored in the third quarter.

It was a poor shooting night for both tradition-rich Red River Valley Conference teams.

The bulk of Hillsboro’s scoring came from beyond the 3-point range.

Jake Olsen and Josh Mayo paced the Burro scoring with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Mayo recently returned to the lineup after being sidelined with a sprained ankle. The sophomore came off the bench to spark the Burros.

“It’s nice to have Josh back playing,” said Rotvold. “He gave us great minutes off the bench and really provided a spark.”

The Burro coach said his team’s defense and rebounding were critical factors in the victory.

“We knew they would play tough defense so we had to match that. We could have folded, the way we were shooting the ball.

“But we hung tough and kept plugging away.”

In the end, it was key defensive stops by the Burros and Zach Grothmann’s rebound on the Patriots’ last shot that put the Burros in the position to win the game.

The sophomore was fouled on the rebound, setting the stage for the game-ending heroics.

With time all but expired, the left-handed shooting guard sank his two game-winning free throws.