The West Plains Zizzers took on the Hillcrest Hornets at the West Plains High School on Jan. 10, 2024. This was a make-up game as the original date for the game was canceled due to snow.
The game started out slow for West Plains as a strong Hillcrest defense kept the Zizzers from penetrating into the post. This and paired with West Plains having many unsuccessful shots led to them trailing Hillcrest at the end of the quarter, 9 to 17.
The second quarter saw Hillcrest continuing to top the scoreboard, largely due to multiple successful 3-point shots. The Zizzers continued to lead in turnovers by a slim margin, 8 to 7, and trailed the Hornets at halftime by ten points, 33 to 23.
West Plains would come out of halftime with a plan to get back on top. The Zizzers were finally able to penetrate the Hornet defense and would outscore Hillcrest 14 to 3 in the quarter. The fourth quarter would start with West Plains leading 37 to 36.
One of the largest deciding factors for the score in the fourth quarter was the number of successful freethrow shots that Hillcrest made. After the Hornets took the lead back, the Zizzers would begin a large number of fouls against Hillcrest that would add signifigant numbers to the Hornet lead, and, eventual win.
The West Plains Zizzers fall to the Hillcrest Hornets, 47 to 56. The next Zizzer Boys Basketball game is scheduled for Jan. 12, 2024, against Forsyth.
