JEROMESVILLE — There was no conference championship on the line or tournament positioning to jockey for, but Hillsdale coach Ben Ferguson and Fredericktown boss Derek Dibling got just what they were looking for Tuesday night: a stern test against a quality opponent.
Freshman Lowen Ferguson led five Falcons in double figures with 18 points and Hillsdale rallied for a 70-63 win on Senior Night inside Steven Dickerson Gymnasium.
“They just won the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference so we knew they were a good team,” Ben Ferguson said. “We have a lot of respect for them.
“It was a great gauge to see where we are at heading into the tournament.”
Dibling agreed.
“They are a good team and it was a good atmosphere to get us ready,” Dibling said. “After winning the league, we wanted to continue to build momentum heading into the tournament.”
The Freddies (16-5) raced out to a 17-14 lead after the first quarter thanks largely to the marksmanship of Carson Rinehart. The sophomore sharpshooter knocked down four 3-pointers in the opening eight minutes.
“We were worried about (6-foot-5 power forward) Gavin Toombs inside, so we came out in a zone,” Ferguson said. “Rinehart is a heck of a shooter and he made us pay in the first quarter.”
The Falcons (15-5) stormed back in the second. Hillsdale trailed 21-17 after a pair of Toombs free throws with 6:07 to play in the opening half but closed the quarter on a 22-8 run for a 39-29 halftime lead. Lowen Ferguson scored 12 points in the period, while junior slasher Troy Bennett added eight.
Hillsdale continued to pad the lead in the third and took a 49-36 advantage on a conventional three-point play by Kael Lewis with 3:33 to play in the period. The Freddies closed the quarter on an 8-4 run and trailed 53-44 heading to the fourth.
The Falcons opened a 65-52 advantage on Lowen Ferguson’s layup with 2:48 remaining in the fourth, but the Freddies refused to go quietly.
A Brode Davis 3-pointer with 2:25 to play made it 65-55, but Davis picked up his fifth foul 20 seconds later. Toombs also fouled out as Fredericktown was whistled for 22 fouls compared to 13 for the Falcons.
“We lost Gavin and we lost Brode … and we’re only nine deep to start with,” Dibling said. “It hindered us, but I was proud of the way we fought.”
Fredericktown cut the deficit to 65-60 on Rinehart’s traditional three-point play with 1:31 to go but would get no closer. Hillsdale connected on 5-of-8 free throws in the final 1:20 to ice it.
“This is one of our bigger wins this year in terms of beating a quality opponent,” Ferguson said. “It gave the boys a lot of confidence.”
Lewis backed Lowen Ferguson with 13 points, while Bennett added a dozen. Bradey Krichbaum and Holland Young each had 10.
“The cool thing about this team is I don’t know who is going to be the leading scorer in any game,” Ferguson said. “We’ve had six different guys lead us in scoring this season.”
Rinehart led Fredericktown with a game-high 19 points. Blake Sipes added 13 and Davis chipped in with 10.
“You never want to lose, but we learned a lot about ourselves tonight,” Dibling said. “We’ll learn from this and continue to build momentum for the postseason.”