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Maurius Hill bulled his way for 15 points, Rashaan Surles added 14 and No. 21 Homewood-Flossmoor pressed its way to a 66-49 victory over Thornwood on Monday in the opener of the Chicago Heights Classic at Marian Catholic.

Hill, a 6-foot-5 senior forward, used his 215-pound frame to power his way into the lane for baskets. He added nine rebounds and four steals.

“I felt like I had a strength advantage,” Hill said. “I lifted (weights) a lot in the offseason. I like to get to the basket, so you’ve got to be stronger than your opponent.”

H-F used a 1-2-1 full-court press to force 25 turnovers and keep Thornwood without a field goal until a Robert Blissitt Jr. basket with 6:49 left in the second quarter.

The Vikings (1-0) went on a 16-0 run spanning the first two quarters, highlighted by a Surles three-pointer and a Thaddeus Little three-point play off a thunderous one-handed jam.

Thornwood trailed 27-8 at one point, but three straight baskets by Brian Thomas (10 points, four assists) cut into the H-F lead.

Thomas later found Donte Thomas (13 points, 12 rebounds) for an alley-oop dunk to move Thornwood to within 10, but Hill responded with a two-handed jam as the half expired for a 32-18 advantage.

“We have some size and length,” H-F coach Jim McLaughlin said. “If we get guys active and moving the way we do in practice, the way they’re supposed to, the (1-2-1 press) becomes a little more effective. It’s a good start.”

Ricky Bullock chipped in 12 points and Little added nine off the bench for the Vikings in a regional final rematch from a season ago that saw H-F prevail 59-53.