Hampton splits with Highlanders
Published 9:01 pm Monday, February 15, 2021
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Cloudland’s Caleb Sluder (3) splits the Bulldog defense and hits a pull up jumper at the rim early in the first quarter.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders The Landers Dylan Shell (4) hits this layup as he’s fouled on a reach in by Hampton’s Isaiah McCoury (23) in the first quarter.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders The Bulldogs Morgan Lyons (24) creates a steal at mid-court and races to the rim for a quick two early in the second quarter.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Hampton’s Michael Harrison (2) drills a three point from the parking lot in the second quarter.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Cloudland’s Jasmine Birchfield (22) cuts across the lane andhits a layup in the third quarter.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders The Lady Bulldogs Linsey Jenkins (24) swats away a layup by Cloudland’s Saharra McKinney (4) late in the third quarter.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders The Lady Bulldogs Nicole Guy (32) hits a baby skyhook, over Cloudland’s Mandy Benfield (14), as she crosses the lane mid-way through the fourth quarter.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders The Lady Landers Ella Benfield (11) uses her body to fend off Hampton’s Nicole Guy (32) on her way to hitting this layup very late in the third quarter.
Star Photo/Dawn Lambert Hampton's Garrett Vines (25) and Joseph Jenkins (10) applies the pressure to a Unicoi Co. ball handler.
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BY ALLEN LAMOUNTAIN
STAR CORRESPONDENT
A pair of runs by the winning teams were the keys to victory on Friday night at Van Huss / White gymnasium. Hampton (17-9, 9-1) went on an 11-0 run in the second period to blunt Cloudland’s early momentum in a 62-41 Watuaga Valley Conference win.
On the girls’ side, the Lady Highlanders shot the lights out and went on a 31-point run between the first and second periods as Cloudland (17-4, 9-1) trounced the Lady Bulldogs 65-19.
The Highlanders (5-12, 2-8) led 17-16 after one period and appeared poised to threaten an upset but the Bulldogs duo of forward Morgan Lyons and guard Michael Harrison scored 11 straight points to stake the ‘Dogs to a 27-17 advantage en route to a 33-22 halftime lead.
“Our defense stepped up there and we got some turnovers and turned it into offense,” Bulldogs head coach Ned Smith said. “Morgan brought energy and he got nine rebounds, four assists and six steals on top of 14 points. Harrison does a lot for us in terms of deflections. I think we had 18 deflections.”
Hampton extended its lead to 48-34 going into the fourth quarter and the ‘Landers simply didn’t have the firepower to overcome the deficit. Harrison had a game-high 15 points with post Conor Burleson scoring 13 for the ‘Dogs.
For Cloudland, senior guard Bentley Gilbert led the way with 12 points with Caleb Sluder adding 11. Hampton takes on Unicoi County on Saturday before ending the regular season with a clash with Chuckey-Doak on Monday before the district 1A tournament begins on Friday for the boys.
Girls
Cloudland 65
Hampton 19
Senior guard Gracie Freeman scored a game-high 14 points with post Mandy Benfield adding 13 and Jasmine Birchfield had 10 as the Lady ‘Landers shot 27-for-43 (62.7 percent) from the floor.
Hampton for its part couldn’t find the range all night dropping in just six buckets – two from beyond the arc – for the entire contest.
“I thought we came out for a big conference game prepared,” Lady ‘Landers head coach Matt Birchfield said. “We stepped up defensively and offensively I thought we had a lot of kids score points, share the ball and we played team ball.”
Cloudland took a 28-3 lead after one period and had a 42-9 halftime advantage. Maddison McClain and Linzy Jenkins each scored six points for the ‘Dogs.
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Boys
Hampton 62-41
Cloudland (41)
Hicks 6, Shell 8, Gilbert 12, Blair 4, Sluder 11
Hampton (62)
Harrison 15, Henry 4, Lyons 14, Jenkins 1, Whitehead 6, McCurry 5, Burleson 13, Campbell 4.
Cloudland 17 5 12 7 – 41
Hampton 16 17 15 14 – 65
3-point goals: C 4 (Gilbert 2, Shell, Sluder), H 2 (Harrison, McCurry).
Girls
Cloudland 65-19
Cloudland (65)
Christman 2, Caraway 8, M. Benfield 13, J. Birchfield 10, Freeman 14, Kar. Fields 5, K. Birchfield 3, McKinney 5, E. Benfield 4, K. Fields 1.
Hampton (19)
Orr 2, Jenkins 6, Berry 3, Guy 2, M. McClain 6.
Cloudlamd 28 14 14 8 – 65
Hampton 3 6 8 2 – 19
3-point goals: C 7 (Freeman 2, Caraway 2, M. Benfield, Kar. Fields, K. Birchfield), H 2 (Berry, M. McClain).
