The Waynesville Tigers had put on a good show against Union the previous night, winning (dominating, really) with a commanding 82-33 score. But the Hillcrest Hornets are not the Union Wildcats, and they beat Waynesville 56-42 on Wednesday night in Springfield.
“We didn’t play with a lot of emotion or energy,” Waynesville head coach Tom Bildner told KIIK radio after the game. “And we weren’t able to shoot the ball very well.”
Bildner told the radio station that he felt like neither team really took control of the game until the second half, when Hillcrest put the muzzle on Waynesville.
The Tigers (14-5, 2-2 Ozark Conference) only trailed by four points at halftime. But Hillcrest (14-5, 4-1, and No. 3 in the Springfield News-Leader’s Southwest Missouri Top 15) held Waynesville to only 6 points in the third quarter, scoring 12 themselves.
“I kind of felt like both teams were going through the motions a bit,” Bildner said.
He also said that he though the team’s lackluster play had nothing to do with playing two nights in a row.
“Physically, we should be in good enough shape to handle two games in a row,” he said. “Maybe not mentally.”

Score by quarters:
HHS: 15  11  12  18   56
WHS: 11  11   6   14   42

Up Next (V/JV):
-Friday at Joplin Eagles (9-8, 3-1), 6 p.m.
-Tuesday at Camdenton Lakers (8-10, 2-2), 6 p.m.
-Thursday, Feb. 12 at Ozark Tigers (12-8), 6 p.m.
-Friday, Feb. 13 vs. West Plains Zizzers (4-14, 1-4), 6 p.m.