The Hillcrest Hornets were the 73-53 winner over the Lebanon Yellowjackets when they last played one another back in January of 2023, but their luck changed this time around. Hillcrest was just a bucket shy of victory on Friday and fell 51-50 to Lebanon. While losing is never fun, Hillcrest can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked 223rd, while Lebanon is ranked 99th).
Lebanon got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Wyatt Carr out in front who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Caleb Ray, who scored 12 points.
This is the second loss in a row for Hillcrest and nudges their season record down to 5-7. As for Lebanon, their win was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 10-3.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Hillcrest will challenge West Plains at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Lebanon, they will head out on the road to face off against Osage at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Osage is coming into the game on a four-game losing streak.
