The McLennan Highlanders held off a late rally by the Hill Rebels to open conference play with a 75-59 victory on the road.
Hill opened the game with a 3-pointe bucket from Gob Gob at the wing but it would prove to be McLennan to have the advantage in the first half. The Highlanders led 7-6 with 15:13 to go in the half. Buckets by CJ Hall and Omarion Smith made it a five-point lead at 11-6. McLennan continued to lead by five at 16-11 with 11:45 on the clock. The Highlanders used a 5-0 run including four points from AJ Barnes to take their first double-digit lead at 21-11. McLennan pushed the lead to 14, 32-18, with just under four minutes to play before halftime. Hill ended the half on an 8-2 run to pull within eight at the break, 34-26.
McLennan pushed early in the second half, doubling the lead to 16 on a Nick Shogbonyo bucket and one with 15:29 remaining in the game, 47-31. Hill cut the lead to 12 before the Highlanders used an 11-2 run of the course of three minutes to extend the lead to 21. Hill rallied down the stretch, cutting the lead to 13 with three minutes to play at 67-54 but that was as close as they could get.
CJ Hall led McLennan with 16 points. Nick Shogbonyo and Omarion Smith added 15 and 14, respectively.
McLennan: Nick Shogbonyo 5 4-6 48; CJ Hall 6 2-4 16; Jaylen Thompson 0 0-0 0; A.J. Barnes 2 0-1 4; Jared Clawson 6 1-2 15; Jahmar Brown 1 0-0 3; Omarion Smith 5 4-6 14; Mason Lockhart 2 2-4 6; Kaleb Pouncy 1 0-1 2; Khalif Allim 0 0-1 0; Totals: 28 13-25 75.
Hill: Isaiah Randolph 3 3-5 9; Gob 3 4-6 12; Solomon Kuol 2 0-0 6; Kevin Rankin 1 3-3 5; Deng Atak 3 0-0 8; Muhamed Kante 3 0-0 8; Julian Williams 2 2-4 6; Kory Terrell 2 1-2 5; Sheer Akot 0 0-0 0; Totals: 19 13-20 59.
3-pointers: McLennan 6 (Clawson 2, Hall 2, Brown 1, Shogbonyo 1); Hill 8 (Gob 2, Kuol 2, Atak 2, Kante 2); Total fouls: McLennan 16, Hill 21; Halftime score: McLennan 34, Hill 26; Record: McLennan 14-3 (1-0).
