In the Section V boy’s basketball semi-finals for the first time in ten years, Hilton closed a 15-point halftime deficit to just five points with just less than three minutes remaining, but could not complete the comeback in a 61-51 loss to UPrep in their Class AA game.
A Joey Lipani trey and sophomore Tah’Jae Hill hitting on his drive tied the game at 5-5, but the Griffins went on a 12-0 run to end the first quarter with a 17-5 advantage.
Cadet turnovers were a factor in the second quarter along with Griffin offensive rebounds, but Hill scored six of Hilton’s nine points over the eight minutes to keep the game within reach.
Hilton took advantage of UPrep foul trouble in the third as sophomore Najier Daniels hit a pair of put-backs, Hill on a drive and Lipani a free throw to cut the deficit to eight halfway through the quarter.
In the fourth, junior Mitchell Carr began a late Hilton push with a put-back followed by five more points from the free throw line from three different Cadets before the Griffin lead became just five points after a Hill drive with 2:51 remaining.
But the Cadets managed just four more baskets—two by senior Morgan Kunigan and a trey by senior Lipani—during the rest of the game.
“I’m extremely proud of our guys and the way they battled,” Hilton head coach Troy Prince said. “They listened to everything we said and it was a matter of trying to hit our shots, trying to fill some of the gaps where they were penetrating and take care of the ball a little bit.
“At the end of the day we didn’t knock down as many shots as we normally do. With the experience, we’re going to be back here in the next couple of years.”
Hill had a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds for Hilton while Carr hauled in ten rebounds. Daniels and Lipani each finished with seven points while point guard Noah Malta handed out four of the Cadets seven assists.
Hilton seniors Lipani, Kunigan and injured Nick Walsh all completed their high school basketball careers.
“Some of our players are young and I think only good things are coming for us,” Prince concluded. “The expectation has been set and there has been buy-in lately—the last three games we’ve played terrific defense.
“If we continue to have some of our younger kids develop…I’m excited for what we have ahead of us.”
