Hilliard

RIMERSBURG — Kyle Hilliard likes the fact that his name appears above all others now on the Union High School all-time scoring list.

But that isn't what drives the senior on the basketball court.

He'd take rebounds over points any day.

"What I like to do is get 20 points and 20 rebounds," Hilliard said. "If I can get more rebounds than points, I'm happy, because it means I've been working my butt off in there."

At 6-foot-2, Hilliard is undersized as forwards go, but he plays much bigger because of his non-stop engine and relentlessness.

He is averaging 20.4 points and 13 rebounds per game this season for the Knights, who just won a playoff game over Kane Wednesday to earn a meeting with No. 1 ranked Elk County Catholic tonight.

"Any night anything can happen," Hilliard said.

That pretty much sums up Hilliard on the court.

He came out for basketball for the first time as a sophomore in Karen Davis' first year as coach and became an instant starter.

Three seasons later and with 17 points against Kane, he has 1,281 career points, passing George Shafer, who had been the all-time leading scorer at Union since 1963.

Coming into the season, both Davis and Hilliard believed breaking Shafer's record would be a long shot.

"I knew I was getting close this year, but I knew I was going to have to have a great season," Hilliard said. "When coach Davis said I needed 28 points in the last two games, I thought I could get it.

"Then, I heard the fans chanting 'One more, one more, one more,' then it sunk in that I was going to do it."

Even Hilliard finds it hard to fathom that he was able to set the record in just three seasons.

"Most people play four years to do something like that," he said. "To do it in three years, it makes me feel honored."

Hilliard sets himself up for scoring opportunities because of his aggressive play on the offensive boards. Of his 13 rebounds per game, almost half come on the offensive end.

"He's a rebounding fiend," Davis said. "He's almost like a magnet to the ball. He's just a great, intense player. He just goes out every night and gives it his all."

Hilliard averaged 17 points and 12 rebounds per game last season.

He will finish his career averaging a double-double — a feat that is rarely accomplished at any level.

Davis is certainly going to miss him next season.

"He's upped his game 100 percent," Davis said. "When I had him as a sophomore, he was good. But he has really matured into a great player."