Scio Christmas Tournament opens with furious 4th quarter jaunt by Hinsdale as Childs, Barton pave path towards 36-27 victory for Bobcats over host Friendship/Scio in return to action
SCIO — Christmas is now officially history, but winter break continued on. But for Hinsdale and Friendship/Scio, their brief return to action this week came Wednesday night with the spotlight shining bright on the annual Scio Christmas Tournament.
For most of the night between the two squads, it was neck-and-neck, with Friendship/Scio carrying a bulk of the momentum across the first half to claim an early lead of the Bobcats. But in the second half, gears were shifted in favor of the visitors in blue, as they took advantage of their opportunities to the fullest, including a big fourth quarter run to set themselves apart from their opposition with a 36-27 victory.
“They outscored us by nine in the fourth. We just have to get a lot tougher going after rebounds. Overall, the physicality needs to improve,” Friendship/Scio coach Dillon McFall said. “As a unit, we’re getting thrown around and at some point, it has to change and we need to find a way to start clicking together. When you look at the game today, you’re not going to win games by scoring the amount of points that we did. We had way too many turnovers, especially when we went on the fast-break.”
For both sides across the first half, points came at a premium, especially out of the gate in the first quarter when the Bobcats (2-2) surfaced an early one-point advantage to carry into the next frame of play. In the second, a momentum shift was formulated for the hosts in white, as they managed to leave the first quarter in the rearview mirror and finish the half strong with a 9-4 outscoring to propel towards a 13-9 lead at the break.
Looking to take full advantage of the opportunity upon their return to the court, Hinsdale turned the tables on Friendship/Scio (1-7) with their two strongest offensive spurts of the night. They would manage to tie the game at 21 after the third quarter before pulling away and out of reach in the last eight minutes with their tide-turning 15-6 jaunt of the hosts, locking up the victory for the Bobcats on the first night of two at the annual holiday tournament.
Leading Hinsdale was Robert Childs and his 11 team-high points. Right behind him was Cody Barton, who chipped in with 10 points. Henry Schwartz had nine points. As for Friendship/Scio, Jerome Harmon posted an 11-point, 12-board double-double to lead the offense. Connor Blouvet scored 10 points to go with five rebounds and five steals.
Both teams will have Alfred-Almond up next back in Scio in the upcoming days, with Hinsdale facing the Eagles first in a 6 p.m. tip-off tonight. Friendship/Scio will help wrap up the Christmas Tournament with a 1 p.m. contest against the Eagles, Friday afternoon.
Hinsdale 5 4 12 15 – 36
Friendship/Scio 4 9 8 6 – 27
HINSDALE: Brad Bergstrom 0 1-4 1, Henry Schwartz 4 1-4 9, Cody Barton 5 0-0 10, Tyler Richards 2 1-3 5, Robert Childs 5 1-2 11. Totals: 16 4-13 36.
FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Aiden Golden 2 0-0 4, Jerome Harmon 5 1-3 11, Connor Blouvet 4 0-0 10, Matt Donohue 1 0-0 2. Totals: 12 1-3 27.
3-point goals: F/S 2 (Blouvet).
Total Fouls: Hinsdale 14, F/S 16. Fouled out: None.
