Hillcrest with a “perfect effort” in convincing win against conference foe Blackfoot

IDAHO FALLS – If the Hillcrest boys basketball team continues to play like it did in Friday’s 77-45 won over Blackfoot, the Knights are going to be tough to beat in the postseason.

“That’s the most complete game we’ve played,” Hillcrest coach Mat Barber said, highlighting the team’s balance on offense and solid defensive effort against a Broncos team averaging nearly 60 points per game and sitting in first place in the conference standings at the start of the night.

Blackfoot already had a win over Hillcrest – a 52-50 victory to start the new year – so there was plenty of motivation in the rematch.

The Knights (13-4, 6-1) opened the game with a 9-0 run and increased the lead to 20 midway through the second quarter as Titan Larsen connected on back-to-back 3-pointers.

The second half was all Hillcrest as the Knights built the lead to 68-40 after three quarters. There was a running clock in the fourth quarter.

“They were self-motivated tonight,” Barber said. “The difference for us, from the get-go, we talk about it’s not going to be a perfect game, we’re going to make mistakes, but our effort can be perfect. This was as close to a perfect effort game as we’ve had.”

Larsen finished with 12 points and was 4 of 6 on 3-pointers. Gage Blakeslee had 12 points and Bridger Taylor and Tyson Sweetwood each scored 10 points. Mike McCartney finished with a team-high 16 points as the Knights shot 30 of 51 from the field.

Junior Austin Arave led Blackfoot (9-7, 6-2) with 18 points and Chett Hyde added 10.