BELOIT 43, HOISINGTON 39 — Beloit's Hayden Nicholson hustled for a rebound and game-clinching free throws en route to a 43-39 non-league basketball victory over the Hoisington Cardinals.
The Cardinals (5-3) had a chance to force a tie when Beloit's Truitt King missed his second free throw with a 41-39 lead. But Nicholson converted two free throws to secure a 4-point lead.
"We needed a boxout to get a rebound in a 1-point game. We gave up too many offensive rebounds," said Hoisington coach Kyle Haxton. "But we battled, holding a state-ranked team to 43 points. Defensively, we made it difficult for them. Offensively, we've got to figure things out. They sent two guys at Mason Martin, and we've got to find ways to score. We've got to make more winning basketball plays."
Hoisington's Brody Pfannenstiel scored a career high 15 points. Mason Martin grabbed 13 rebounds with nine points and Kobe Crawford added nine points. Marcus Ingram contributed three assists and two steals. The Cardinals fired blanks from long range with 0 of 11 shooting.
"Brody did a great offensive job working inside," Haxton said.
Beloit 8 13 11 11 — 43
Hoisington 7 11 5 16 — 39
BELOIT (7-1)—Truitt King 16, Remus 8, Nicholson 6, Litton 6, Burke 2, Cheney 2, Pierce 2
HOISINGTON (5-3)—Pfannenstiel 5-8 5-10 15, Crawford 4-8 0-0 9, Martin 2-11 (0-7) 5-7 9, Carson Mason 0-6 (0-4) 0-0 0, Ingram 1-4 (0-2) 2-2 4, Cossel 0-0 2-2 2, Gruis 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 12-38 (0-11) 15-24 39
BELOIT GIRLS 49, HOISINGTON 38 — The No. 3 state-ranked 3A Beloit girls dominated the Cardinals 45-23 to erase Hoisington's brilliant 11-point first quarter lead. The Cardinals played their best quarter of the season with an impressive 15-4 start behind effective fullcourt pressure defense.
Hoisington's Kelsi Maier scored 16 points with 10 rebounds and Kinley Wilkens added 11 points, but the Cardinals' reliable perimeter shooters misfired all night.
"It was a hard-fought game that was a good basketball game," said Hoisington coach Trina Lutters. "You learn from every loss. We're a team that won't be overlooked. Our goal is to be playing our best basketball at the end of February."
Beloit guard Karlie Smith scored 16 points with five assists and four steals on 5 of 25 shooting. Reagan Cheney added 13 points.
Beloit 4 16 18 11 — 49
Hoisington 15 4 10 9 — 38
BELOIT (7-1)—Smith 5-25 (1-10) 5-6 16, Cheney 6-15 1-3 13, Litton 3-4 0-0 6, Lorenz 2-6 (0-1) 0-0 4, Thompson 3-8 (0-5) 0-0 6; Channell 0-4 (0-1) 0-0 0; Rabe 2-3 0-0 4; Totals 21-65 (1-17)
HOISINGTON (5-2)— Maier 16, Wilkens 11, Hanzlick 2, Beck 2, Lutters 5, Aylward 2
