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Hawks capture battle with No. 1

By RANDY WORRELL
Daily Record Sports Writer

BERLIN—Can you top that?

Two great basketball teams traded jabs, momentum, and big play after big play for 36 pressure-packed minutes on Saturday. When it was over, the Hiland girls basketball team had written the final chapter on the opening day of the Classic in the Country Challenge with a 67-61 overtime win over Africentric in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Reese Center.

Hiland's Morgan McMillen scored a game-high 26 points, Angela Troyer added 17 to go along with her nine rebounds, and Tiffany Weaver chipped in with 13 as the Hawks, ranked sixth in the first AP Div. IV poll, improved to 12-0 on the season.

Africentric sophomore Jordan Horston led the Nubians with 14 points, while Kynnedy Azubike added 13. Africentric (10-1) entered the contest as the top-ranked Div. III team in the first AP poll released earlier this week.

"A lot of times these high-profile games in this event don't always match the hype, but I'm so glad we were able to give our fans, who are so loyal and great to our program, such an exciting game," Hiland coach Dave Schlabach said. "We've played them seven times now, and they've all been fantastic. Most people feel that (Africentric) is one of the best teams in the state regardless of division. The tournament wins are always sweet, but this one is pretty special."

The Nubians, who have won five state championships since 2007, including last year's 32-point title game victory over Marion Pleasant, featured five Div. I recruits on their roster and two others who have inked offers with Div. II schools.

The Hawks, though, never flinched on Saturday despite the length and athleticism the Nubians threw at them with their relentless full-court pressure. In fact, Africentric led just one time the entire night.

Hiland led 13-8 after one period, then extended the lead to 20-11 midway through the second period before taking a 24-20 advantage to the break.

Hiland continued to lead during the early portion of the third quarter as well, before the Nubians' Dejae Denham, an Ohio University commit, gave her team its only lead at 32-30 on an old-fashioned 3-point play with 4:53 left in the period.

Angela Troyer tied the game with a bucket a possession later, then the Hawks re-gained the lead the next trip down the floor on a nifty behind-the-back pass from McMillen to Weaver for a layup gave the Hawks a 34-32 advantage.

"You know going in that (Africentric) is going to cause you to turn the ball over and make runs at you," Schlabach said. "But, I told our girls all week that the team who answers and keeps their composure will have the better chance to win, and I thought our girls did a terrific job of that.

Hiland still led by as many as seven (55-48) with 1:37 left in regulation, before the Nubians mounted a run to close within 56-54 with 42.9 seconds left. A pair of Azubike free throws with 31.1 on the clock sent the contest into overtime.

Angela Troyer opened the extra session with a basket to make it 58-56, with four McMillen free throws extending the Hawks' lead to 63-59 with 44.8 remaining. Two more Troyer free throws gave the Hawks their final margin of victory with 4.4 ticks left.

Hiland finished the night 16 of 43 from the floor (37 percent), while canning just 2 of 9 beyond the arc. Africentric was 24 of 68 (35 percent), and was 3 of 20 on 3-pointers. The Nubians outrebounded Hiland 43-38.