Holding on… Hampton fends off Central in closing minute for 62-59 win
Published 11:59 pm Friday, November 22, 2019
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Hampton's Skylar Hicks works the basketball just beyond the arc.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Lady Bulldog Hannah Collins looks to go up with a shot while being guarded closely.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Hampton's Bridgette Heaton charges hard toward the goal.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Hampton's Madison McClain looks to throw a pass inside to a teammate.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Conor Jones of Hampton breaks toward the basket.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders The 'Dogs Izaak Hill takes the ball toward the paint.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Hampton's Jordan Bentley puts on the brakes as he gets ready to go up for a short-range jumper.
BY IVAN SANDERS
STAR SPORTS EDITOR
BLOUNTVILLE – The one thing that Hampton’s disappointing loss to Oneida last week did do was brought some much-needed help to Hampton’s basketball team.
And the ‘Dogs would need every one of them for their contest against the Sullivan Central Cougars on Thursday night inside the Dickie Warren Dome at Central.
Hampton fought off a final minute flourish from the home team to take a very physical and challenging hardwood contest by a 62-59 score.
The score was fairly tight throughout the game as Hampton managed to take a 27-24 lead to the locker room after the first 16 minutes of action.
Jordan Bentley’s seven first-half points helped to propel Coach Ned Smith’s team out front.
Rocky Croy drained a pair of treys and Conor Jones made the quick changeover from the football field to the hardwood to contributed six points in the first half.
Joltin Harrison hit two treys to lead the Cougars in the first half with six points.
Hampton managed to up their advantage by three points in the third quarter as the ‘Dogs outscored the Cougars 15-12.
Bentley added four more points to his scoring column while Izaak Hill added four points and Matt Hughes drained a big three when the Cougars were making a mini-run.
Hampton was up by six with less than two minutes to play when Central managed to force a couple of Bulldog turnovers and the Cougars capitalized to be within one point and a chance to take the lead.
Hampton, however, dug in and managed to add a pair of free throws for the final margin of victory.
Bentley led the ‘Dogs in scoring with 13 points in the contest while Caleb Oaks and Matt Hughes reached double figures with 10 each.
Croy finished his night with nine points and Jones added eight.
Hill (6), Dalton Holtsclaw (3), Parker Henry (2), and Garrett Vines (1) closed out the scorebook for Hampton.
While Vines didn’t score many points, his ball-handling skills came up huge when Hampton was bringing the ball into the frontcourt.
Ty Barb had 14 points to lead the Cougars. Jacob Fields had 11.
Girls
Central…….62
Hampton…30
The Lady Bulldogs took an early 8-6 lead after one quarter and then the Cougars seized the lead and never looked back in taking a 62-30 win.
Linsey Jenkins led the Lady ‘Dogs in scoring in the game with nine points. Sara Orr netted five points.
Other scorers for the Lady Bulldogs were Bridgette Heaton (4), Destini Milhorn (4), Hazen Brumitt (3), Madison McClain (2), Ashton Townson (2), and Skylar Hicks (1).
Junior Varsity Boys
Hampton…73
Central……68
Connor Burleson blistered the cotton for 26 points to lead the Bulldog JV team over Central by a 73-68 score.
Austin Bentley dropped in 12 points and Mike Harrison totaled nine points in the win. John Greenwell had eight.
Junior Varsity Girls
Central…….73
Hampton….32
Central overwhelmed the JV Lady Bulldogs taking a 41-point win to open the day’s action.
13 out of 15 players scored for the Lady Cougars led by Emma Niebruegge with 15.
Hampton was paced by Linsey Jenkins with 12 points with Bre Davis dropping in seven.
Madison McClain netted six points while Ryleigh Nickles had four. Chloe Watson added a trey to finish with three points.
