Hilzendeger powers Ambridge past Quaker Valley

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, January 15, 2019 | 10:42 PM

Aaron Hilzendeger racked up a game-high 32 points Tuesday night.

However, it was one point he missed that stood out most for him in a 72-67 double-overtime win at Quaker Valley in a WPIAL Section 2-4A showdown.

Trailing, 50-48, with 6.4 seconds left in regulation, Hilzendeger missed the first of two free throws, but swished the next to trim the deficit to one. After Quaker Valley’s Ryan Stowers split a pair of freebies, Hilzendeger got his redemption as his runner at the buzzer floated in the basket to send the game to overtime.

“I had to make up for the free throw I missed. If we would have lost after that missed free throw, I wouldn’t have forgiven myself,” he said. “I knew (the final shot) was going in. As soon as I made that, I knew the game was over. Once we get momentum going and we play great defense, we just go.”

Both teams scored four points in the first overtime, but the Bridgers (10-4, 5-0) pulled away in the second extra session when they made their first nine free throws. Liam Buck and Hilzendeger both went 7 for 8 from the line, while Eric Chambers made both of his attempts and Ante Cvitkovic added another.

“We were in the bonus, and I kept telling them they had to go to the hole,” Ambridge coach Mark Jula said. “Liam Buck had been struggling, but looked pretty confident today. Hilzendeger always shoots fouls well. The other guys can do it, too.

“That was just a great high school game,” he continued. “These guys have a confidence about them now. They’ve been playing well. They feel they can go out and play with everybody.”

The confidence showed in the second half as the team erased an 11-point deficit. The Quakers (10-2, 4-2) used a 10-0 run to build a 37-26 lead with 2:53 left in the third. The visitors cut that to 39-35 at the buzzer.

“They were running a 1-3 chaser on Aaron. Other guys were wide open. We should have moved the ball more. We were taking anxious shots. When we were down seven, it looked like we were trying to take 7-point shots,” Jula said. “Once we settled down, we started flaring more for Aaron. Then, we just gave him the ball, set screens and gave him an open floor. We did better things. They threw us off when they came out in the second half with that defense.”

Hilzendeger took over, starting the fourth. Limited to eight points through three quarters, he scored 24 of Ambridge’s final 37 points.

“We changed defenses and they adjusted and then we adjusted. I think it was just two very high-level teams going at it,” Quaker Valley coach Mike Mastroianni said. “They have a high-level guy who made tremendous plays. Aaron played an outstanding game. He made tons of winning plays for them. He made big shots and had the ball in his hands. We ran a couple players at him a few times, and he just made the right plays. It was just good players against good players, and they stepped up.”

The victory over Quaker Valley was the first in Hilzendeger’s high school career.

“This win means everything,” he said. “We’ve been working on beating them for three years now since they came into the section.”

It also keeps the Bridgers atop the section standings with the best section start of Jula’s Ambridge coaching career.

“It’s probably the best section in Pennsylvania,” he said. “If you’re 5-0 in this section, you must be doing something right.”

Isaiah Thomas finished with 14 points for the Bridgers, including nine in the critical comeback in the third. Buck finished with 11.

Stowers led the Quakers with 25 points. Danny Conlan had 22 and Adou Thiero added 10. It was Quaker Valley’s second section loss in a row. The Quakers fell to Blackhawk, 70-69, in overtime on Friday.

“I think everyone in this section is competitive with each other. You really have to just worry about yourself; you can’t worry about anyone else,” Mastroianni said. “This section definitely gets you ready for the playoffs, though.”

Joe Sager is a freelance writer.

Tags: Ambridge