Records: Hillcrest 17-9, Richards 22-5
Halftime: Hillcrest 28-24
Summary: Hillcrest, behind relentless defensive pressure, captured the South Suburban Conference tournament title. Down 36-33 in the third quarter, the Hawks took the lead for good with a 10-0 run. A 15-5 run by Richards pulled the Bulldogs within 54-53 with under 2:00 left, but Hillcrest closed it out with a game-ending 8-3 run. Julius Brown was 8-for-8 from the free throw line and had three of his five steals in the fourth quarter.
Top performers: Hillcrest ? G Eric Gaines 24 points, G Herbert Offord 12 points, G Julius Brown 10 points 5 steals, F Travis Scott 10 points. Richards ? C Shaun Pratl 16 points 11 rebounds, G Brandon Snowden 14 points, G Jeff Harris 12 points.
The bonus: “Richards is always a rival, and it’s always us two in the championship game,” Gaines said. “We play as a team now; in the beginning of the season, we were arguing and not playing as a team.”