Hampton splits with Blue Devils

Published 11:10 am Monday, February 6, 2023

By Allen LaMountain

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STAR CORRESPONDENT
Unicoi County spoiled Senior Night for the Bulldogs by pulling off a 65-62 victory at Van Huss / White gymnasium on Saturday evening. For the girls, however, senior point guard Madison McClain’s 21–point effort helped propel the Lady Bulldogs to a 73-59 win.
“We talked a lot about inside out shooting,” Lady Bulldogs head coach Brandon Carpenter said. “Pass it inside and kick it back out. Unicoi has improved a whole lot, we watched film on them and were surprised at how much coach (Brandon) Broyles has improved that program and we knew it would be a tough game.”
Hampton (22-1 overall) knocked down 12 treys in this one with McClain hitting on five deep shots and junior post Taylor Berry drained three more. The Lady ‘Dogs opened with a 20-16 first-period lead and expanded that advantage to 39-27 by halftime.
The Lady Blue Devils (14-14 overall) trimmed two points off that lead going into the fourth quarter but Hampton had another spurt in them – going on a 15-2 run – and cruised to the 14-point victory. For Hampton, Macy Henry, Linsey Jenkins and Berry each scored 13 points and sophomore Piper Helle tallied 11.
Allie Lingerfelt scored a team-high 17 points, hitting on five trey’s, and Faith Bennett added 15 points for the Lady Devils.
BOYS
Unicoi Co 65
Hampton 62
Senior guard Cadon Buckles and Geno Carrico both had three-point shots clang off the rim as the buzzer sounded and Hampton fell by that margin. A see-saw game from the outset; the Blue Devils matched the Bulldogs physicality and intensity all night and after the first period the game was knotted at 19-19.
The Devils took a 36-34 halftime lead with post Lucas Slagle and guard Kolby Jones each scoring a team-high nine points. Buckles had a game-high 20 points by the break and ended the contest with 28 points.
Unicoi County (20-7 overall) led 50-47 and opened the fourth period with a three-point play from Grant Hensley and the Blue Devils soon created a 58-50 lead. The ‘Dogs battled back with a deuce from Buckles and a trey from Levi Lyons to trim the Unicoi lead to 58-55.
Hampton (19-6 overall) continued their run with a basket from Carrico and another from Buckles as the ‘Dogs took a 59-58 lead with 2:11 left in regulation. Eli Johnson dropped in a bucket for the Devils and Hayden Campbell answered with one in the paint.
It was Johnson once again for the Devils and Slagle hitting one-of-two from the line for a 63-61 lead with 33.2 ticks left on the clock. Campbell stepped to the line with a chance to tie but was only able to hit one of his two free throws and the ‘Dogs trailed by one at 63-62.
Johnson once again scored for UC and Hampton came down the court determined to tie the contest, but Buckles saw his trey hit the front rim and Carrico gobbled up the offensive rebound and his three-point effort did likewise.
“We battled to the end,” Bulldogs head coach Ned Smith said. “We had good looks at it, just didn’t go down. Cadon came out hot and scored a lot of points. The kid Hayden Campbell matched up with (Slagle) was about as big as we’ll play.”
GIRLS
Hampton 73-59
Unicoi County (59)
Bailey 12, Rush 6, Farnor 2, Metcalf 7, Lingerfelt 17, Bennett 15.
Hampton (73)
Helle 11, McClain 21, Henry 13, Jenkins 13, Berry 13, Nickels 2.
Unicoi Co. 16 11 18 14 – 59
Hampton 20 19 16 18 – 73
3-point goals: UC 6 (Lingerfelt 5, Bennett 1), H 12 (McClain 5, Berry 3, Henry 2, Jenkins 2)
BOYS
Unicoi Co. 65-62
Unicoi County (65)
Jones 11, Hensley 23, Johnson 15, Simmons 7, Slagle 9.
Hampton (62)
Lyons 7, Anspaugh 14, Buckles 28, Campbell 11, Carrico 2.
Unicoi Co. 19 17 14 15 – 65
Hampton 19 15 13 15 – 62
3-point goals: UC 8 (Jones 3, Hensley 2, Johnson 1, Simmons 1, Slagle 1), H 7 (Anspaugh 4, Buckles 2, Lyons 1)

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