Giving it their all… Hampton Jr. ‘Dogs capture third place in Class 1A state tourney

Published 12:15 am Tuesday, February 18, 2020

By Ivan Sanders

BY IVAN SANDERS
STAR SPORTS EDITOR
ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
SMYRNA – It wasn’t exactly the outcome the Hampton Jr. Bulldogs were hoping for in their second consecutive trip to the TMSAA Class 1A state tournament over the weekend at Smyrna but as always the Jr. Bulldogs left everything they had and more on the court at Stewart’s Creek Middle School.
After suffering a defeat to the eventual state champion Lester Prep on Friday night, the Jr. ‘Dogs took to the court on Saturday in the third-place game against Moore County who lost to Oneida on Friday as well.
In the end, the Jr. ‘Dogs withstood another tough challenge in earning the 52-46 final over Moore County to collect the third-place hardware.
Once again it was another game where officiating wasn’t the best but Hampton managed to keep their composure and got enough help from the bench to withstand Moore County.
The first half was hotly contested as Hampton managed to eke out to a 22-19 lead after the first 12 minutes of play.
Dylan Trivett kept his team out front with eight points in the opening half while Michael Anspaugh added five including a sweet triple from the corner.
Chandler Smith also knocked down a trey in the half as Hampton just couldn’t pull away from Moore Co.
Hampton finally got some breathing room in the third quarter as they worked to outscore Moore Co. offensively as Trivett came out with fire in his eyes hitting two treys with help from Geno Carrico who added three.
It was Carrico’s first game in a while as he had been recuperating from a broken hand.
The Jr. Bulldogs were able to make the lead hold up to the final horn despite being outscored 18-15 in the final six minutes of play as the team, cheerleaders, and fans celebrated the win as the horn sounded to end the contest.
Trivett finished his eighth-grade career with 16 points to lead his team to the win. Anspaugh added 10 points while Dominic Burleson totaled seven points.
Hayden Campbell was held in check with five points for the contest. Grayson Young chipped in with four points including a key shot late in the fourth quarter.
Smith and Elijah McKinney closed out the scoring with three and two points respectively.
“The last thing that I told them before we left the hotel is you can’t let Lester Prep beat us twice,” said head coach Dewayne Humphrey. “We wanted to come out and play Hampton basketball and people around home know when they play us that we are going to play hard, we are going to play aggressive.
“When we get out we want to push the basketball and that’s what I told them today. They really responded.”
Hampton finished their season with a 27-4 overall record and several tournament titles throughout the season.
Friday Semifinal Game
Lester Prep…38
Hampton…….35
In a game that should have been for the championship, the two teams played a very physical, low-scoring contest as Lester Prep from the Memphis area managed to escape the Jr. ‘Dogs by the skin of their teeth.
The game which featured several turnovers and many missed calls on the part of the officials kept the crowd on the edge of their seat the entire contest as it was a back and forth affair.
Hayden Campbell and Dylan Trivett led the Jr. ‘Dog attack with 12 and 11 points respectively. Michael Anspaugh added five points with Dominic Burleson tallying three points.
A pair of Jr. ‘Dogs added two points including Grayson Young and Geno Carrico.

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