Hampton fourth-quarter surge upends Cloudland
Published 11:59 pm Monday, February 24, 2020
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Star Photo/Brandon Hyde Hampton and Cloudland had a close battle Saturday at the boys 1A District Tournament.
Star Photo/Brandon Hyde Cloudland's Hayden Shell hesitates for the easy layup as Hampton's Jordan Bentley sails by.
Star Photo/Brandon Hyde Hampton's Rocky Croy puts one on the board for two Saturday against Cloudland.
Star Photo/Brandon Hyde Bentley Gilbert pulls down a rebound for the Highlanders.
BY ALLEN LAMOUNTAIN
STAR CORRESPONDENT
GRAY – On Saturday evening at Bobby Snyder Gymnasium in the District 1-A boys’ semifinal, the Hampton Bulldogs showcased what has been their strongest suit all season…a strong finishing kick.
Trailing or tied throughout most of the contest the ‘Dogs used a 9-2 fourth-quarter run to open a 49-43 lead and closed out Cloudland 60-52.
With the win the ‘Dogs (22-9) advance to the championship game on Monday against University High who took a 60-52 victory over North Greene.
The Highlanders (15-14) were led by senior guard Hunter Shell who poured in 27 points – hitting five three-ball’s – and the Cloudland physical defense frustrated Hampton for much of the contest.
“We got some steals that turned into offense and that was one of the keys in the second half,” Bulldogs head coach Ned Smith said. “We got to some loose balls, some 50/50 balls, and Conor Jones had eight assists. Rocky Croy shot the ball well and Vines hit some big three’s.”
Cloudland held a 16-15 advantage after one period and led 26-25 at the break with Shell’s 15-point first half leading the way. The ‘Landers battled to a 38-37 lead going into the fourth quarter and after a pair of free throws from Bentley Gilbert held a 43-40 lead.
Junior guard Garrett Vines hit his second of three fourth period trey’s to tie the game and the ‘Dogs followed that with buckets from Jordan Bentley and Rocky Croy and finished the run with a pair of free throws from Bentley as the ‘Dogs now held a six-point lead.
Croy finished his strong night with 21 points to lead the ‘Dogs in scoring, with Vines adding 13 and Bentley had 12 points. The ‘Landers cut the Hampton lead to 51-50 with 1:54 remaining in regulation with Shell hitting a huge trey and forcing a Bulldog time out.
Croy got a big deuce following the time out and Vines hit a pair from the charity stripe to push the Bulldogs lead to 55-50. Hayden Shell connected on a long deuce but it would be the last points of the night for Cloudland as Hampton finished the contest at the free-throw line.
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BOYS
District 1A semifinal
Hampton 60-52
Cloudland (52)
Birchfield 12, Gilbert 6, Hu. Shell 27, Ha. Shell 2, Julian 2, Childress 3.
Hampton (60)
Hughes 3, Vines 13, Croy 21, Bentley 12, Jones 4, Hill 3, Lyons 4.
Cloudland 16 10 12 14 – 52
Hampton 15 10 12 23 – 60
3-point goals: C 5 (Hu. Shell 5). H 8 (Vines 3, Croy 3, Hughes, Bentley).
