Hillman Atones for Past Misses in Harvard Win

The last time Harvard High played Chaminade, the Saracens’ Bob Hillman missed two critical free throws late in the game and Chaminade went on to win on a three-point shot at the buzzer.

For most, that would be motivation enough to have a great performance in the rematch Tuesday night. In addition, Hillman started the Santa Fe League game in place of Geoff Given, who is recovering from the flu.

But Hillman did his best to put the miscues of the last game behind him.

“I was thinking about the game, yeah,” said Hillman, who entered the game averaging 8.5 points a game, “but I just came out and shot the ball.

“I have more confidence now. In the first couple of games, I wasn’t hitting my shots, so I changed my shooting style.”

Whatever his motivation, Hillman’s game-high 21 points sparked the Saracens to an 83-72 victory at Chaminade.

“That was by far Bob’s best game of the year,” Harvard Coach Greg Hilliard said. “He just came out ready to play.”

Hillman’s performance also got good reviews from Chaminade Coach Mike Lynn.

“He has not been a big scorer all season long, not that I didn’t think he couldn’t, I just didn’t think he could hit them from that far out,” Lynn said.

After trailing by four with 5:27 left, Harvard scored 14 unanswered points to take a 72-62 lead with a little more than two minutes to play. After Doug Marconet hit a three-point shot with 1:49 left to bring Chaminade to within seven, Harvard clung to its lead by making 7 of 8 free throws in the last 1 1/2 minutes. As a team, the Saracens (8-6, 6-2 in league play) made 27 of 34 free throws; Chaminade converted 15 of 30.

“When we were coming down in the last six minutes, we weren’t sure how to attack,” Lynn said. “Harvard got back quicker on defense than most teams we’ve played. We didn’t create the right shots.”

Moments before Harvard’s 14-point run, Chaminade (11-6, 6-2) took a 62-58 lead by scoring eight points in a row. Hilliard, however, decided against calling a timeout to stop Chaminade’s momentum.

“I was thinking I was going to have to save my timeouts for overtime,” Hilliard said. “We’ve always just liked to rely on the flow of the game.”

Nearly overshadowed by Hillman’s performance was the play of Harvard’s Charles Patton, who finished with 20 points and made 12 of 15 free throws. Brian Domyan and Rick Osterloh added 14 and 11 points, respectively, for the Saracens.

For Chaminade, John Carolan scored a team-high 19 points, including 11 in the second half.