One win away from 20 wins: Southwestern boys edge a top-notch Hillsboro squad 46-43

PIASA SOUTHWESTERN 46, HILLSBORO 43: Caden Heyen led Piasa Southwestern with 14 points as the Piasa Birds got past Hillsboro 46-43 in a South Central Conference game in Hillsboro Tuesday night;

Southwestern improved to 19-7 on the year while the Hilltoppers fell to 13-11. The Piasa Birds are one win away from another 20-game winning season and are 7-1 in the SCC.

Justin Bailey added 10 for the Birds while Ben Lowis and E.J. Kahl each had seven on the night. The Piasa Birds' Caleb Robinson contributed six points. Hillsboro’s Kaiden White had 15 points and Drake Paden added 13 points.

Southwestern head coach Jason Darr was very satisfied to get the victory over Hillsboro.

“Hillsboro is a good team in our conference,” he said. “They were 6-1 in the conference coming into this game, I think. I thought our kids played great defense and rebounded the ball really well. We are one shot away from winning a conference championship.”

Southwestern visits Pana at 7:30 p.m. Friday to close out the regular season. The Piasa Birds open play at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the IHSA Class 2A East Alton-Wood River Regional.

Coach Darr said he hopes to see his team notch another win on Friday at Pana, which would push the squad to 8-1 in the SCC and a guaranteed 20-win season.

More like this:

Play It Again Sports Roundup For Sept. 4-Sept. 8, 2026

Sep 9, 2026

Play It Again Sports Roundup - Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026

Sep 11, 2026

Holoman Powers Piasa Birds With 141 Yards and Two TDS: Southwestern Football Squad Blanks North Mac 41-0

Sep 4, 2026

Altonized Community Federal Credit Union Male Athlete Of Month: Holoman Leads Ground Attack In Piasa Birds Shutout Win

Sep 4, 2026

Altonized Community Federal Credit Union Male Athlete Of Month: Three-Sport Standout Carter Watson Leads Southwestern Offense

Sep 3, 2026