Boys Basketball: Jovan Mooring leads Hillcrest past Thornton

Updated: January 7, 2012 10:54PM

Hillcrest guard Jovan Mooring found his shot midway through the first quarter Saturday, helping Hillcrest hold off Thornton’s upset bid as the Hawks won 68-53 in Harvey.

“I felt it,” said Mooring, who finished with 25 points. “I let them know

once I hit one shot to give me the ball again. And then after I hit another

one, [said], ‘Keep it coming until I miss.’”

Mooring missed his first six shots, and the Wildcats opened a 10-3 lead. By the end of the first quarter, however, Mooring had begun to heat up, netting a three-pointer and a jumper to spark a 12-0 run for Hillcrest.

Midway through the second quarter, Mooring banked in a stop-and-pop step-back shot off the glass from about 20 feet out, using a spin move to dribble himself free. The 6-foot-1 junior swished six consecutive shots during a pivotal stretch in the first half. Mooring eight of his last 11 shots.

“When (Mooring) gets on fire, he’s fun to watch,” Hillcrest coach Don Houston said. “He caught fire tonight, and that kind of gave us some separation from the other team.”

The Hawks (12-3) used its full-court press to disrupt Thornton’s rhythm, forcing 17 Wildcat turnovers. Desmond Trapp’s breakaway steal and layup put Hillcrest up 29-16 with 2:07 left in the second quarter.

“We did a pretty good job once we picked up the pressure,” Houston said. “They came out and they jumped on us. But our guys then turned up the pressure on them, and the game turned around.”

Brian Nicholson scored 11 points for Thornton (5-9).

“I told the kids before we went out there that if we succumbed to the pressure, we were going to have a hard time. And it showed,” Thornton coach Troy Jackson said.

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