Oaks, Croy lead Bulldogs past North Greene
Published 1:43 am Tuesday, January 14, 2020
1 of 7
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders
The Lady Bulldogs Chloe Watson (35) lifts up a floater in the lane late in the fourth quarter.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders
Hampton’s Hannah Collins (12) pops a fadeaway jumper near the baseline in the third quarter.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders
Hampton’s Ashton Townson (15) hits a runner in the lane for two in the fourth quarter.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders
Hampton’s Hannah Collins (12) goes under the outstretched arm of the Lady Huskies Grace Buchanan (14) for two in the fourth quarter.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders
The Bulldogs Matt Hughes (21) hits a one-handed jumper in the second quarter.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders
The Bulldogs Rocky Croy (34) soars to the basket after taking a full-court pass for an easy layup in the first quarter.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders
Hampton’s Jordan Bentley (35) and Rocky Croy (34) try to trap the Huskies Kendal Loftis (32) along the baseline on an inbounds play in the first quarter.
BY ALLEN LAMOUNTAIN
STAR CORRESPONDENT
A pair of seniors led a Hampton rally on Friday night to a Watauga Valley Conference win over North Greene at VanHuss White gymnasium. Post player Caleb Oaks and guard Rocky Croy helped the Bulldogs overcome a 10-point early deficit to a runaway 53-38 victory.
Croy knocked down a corner trey at the 5:01 mark of the third period to give Hampton (11-8, 3-1 WVC) its first lead of the game at 26-25 and he finished with a team-high 15 points. Oaks scored nine of his 13 points in the fourth quarter as he took over in the blocks.
“He did a good job posting up and the kids did a good job getting him the ball,” Bulldogs head coach Ned Smith said. “He put it in the hole and Croy did a good job shooting the ball outside and made some good passes.
“Vines made some big free throws down the stretch and it was a good win for us against a good team.”
After running out to a 10-0 first period lead the Huskies saw Hampton rally to cut the North Greene lead to 14-10 after one quarter with Croy hitting three buckets in the frame.
By halftime, the Huskies lead had been whittled to 21-20 with Croy’s eight points leading the way.
After Croy’s second consecutive trey gave Hampton the lead the Bulldogs turned up the defensive pressure allowing North Greene (11-6, 2-1) just 17 second-half points.
Turner Bailey lead the way for the Huskies with a game-high 21 points but got just 17 points support from the rest of his team.
Hampton held a 31-30 lead going into the fourth period and that is when Oaks took over down low with four buckets – including a three-point play – and the ‘Dogs cruised. Hampton outscored North Greene 22-8 in the final period to run away with this one.
—
Hampton 53-38
North Greene (38)
Whaley 3, Bailey 21, Loftis 6, Pierce 2, Foulks 3, Campbell 3.
Hampton (53)
Hughes 7, Vines 3, Oaks 13, Croy 15, Bentley 9, Jones 3, Lyons 3.
North Greene 14 7 9 8 – 38
Hampton 10 10 11 22 – 53
3-point goals: NG 4 (Bailey 2, Whaley, Foulks). H 4 (Croy 2, Jones, Hughes).
GIRLS
North Greene….62
Hampton……….34
Running out to a 43-12 halftime lead the Lady Huskies rolled to an easy win over the Lady Bulldogs. Guard Emily Britton hit three trey’s in the first quarter as North Greene took a 23-6 lead.
Fellow guard Shelby Davenport took over in the second period with nine points as the Huskies enjoyed a huge halftime advantage.
“We started three guards just to be able to get back and take care of the ball a little bit,” commented Lady Bulldogs head coach Bud Hazelwood. “Three-point guards and we still didn’t get back.
“You can’t do that against a team that is supposed to be the best in the conference. They showed it tonight.”
Hampton (5-13, 2-2 WVC) had little in the way of scoring punch in this one with Linsey Jenkins leading the way with six points and Hannah Collins – who battled foul trouble all night – adding five to the Lady ‘Dogs point total.
“We played better in the second half but we didn’t come out the way we needed to,” Hazelwood said. “You can’t come out like that against a team of their caliber.
“They don’t have many weaknesses and for some reason, we seemed a little intimidated. I don’t know why we play them every year.”
Breezy Savage had a game-high 12 points with Britton adding 11. Davenport and Hailee English each added nine to a balanced NG scoring sheet.
—
North Greene 62-34
North Greene (62)
Britton 11, Davenport 9, Savage 12, Bernard 7, Anderson 6, English 9, Gaby 5, Buchanan 3.
Hampton (34)
McClain 3, Collins 5, Jenkins 6, Heaton 3, Orr 3, Townson 4, Hicks 3, Milhorn 2, Guy 3, Watson 2.
North Greene 23 20 12 7 – 62
Hampton 6 6 8 14 – 34
3-point goals: NG 8 (Britton 3, English 3, Davenport, Buchanan). H 2 (McClain, Heaton).
