2022 Class 1-A Boys BlueCross Basketball Championship Semifinals… Hampton’s shot at gold ball falls just short in the ‘Boro
Published 8:19 pm Friday, March 18, 2022
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File Photo The Hampton Bulldogs lost a heartbreaker to East Robertson in overtime 58-56 as their season came to an end.
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FROM STAFF REPORTS
Hampton took the court at Middle Tennessee State’s Murphy Center on Friday seeking their first shot at a gold ball since 1983 and knew it would take a ton of work against a very athletic East Robertson team to make that opportunity become a reality.
Faced without playing with post Conor Burleson, Hampton scratched and clawed the entire game to force an overtime session where the Indians managed to gain a slim lead late and held on for a 58-56 win ending another ultra-successful season.
Hampton came out to start the game on a strong note as they quickly built a four-point lead, 16-12, at the end of the first quarter. The Bulldogs were frustrating East Robertson by standing square in the front of the Indians as they tried to get in the flow of their offense while taking several charge calls in the early going.
East Robertson changed things up in the second quarter as the Indians begin trapping around the top of the key forcing Hampton to turn the basketball over on a few trips down the floor.
The Indians outscored the ‘Dogs 21-11 in the second period closing the half on a long three from in front of the Hampton bench to take a 33-27 lead into the locker room.
Cadon Buckles led the way in the opening half with 10 points. Michael Harrison and Morgan Lyons played a pivotal role by scoring six points each in the half.
Dalton Holtsclaw and Logan Whitehead contributed with three and two points respectively.
For the first half, Hampton shot 11-of-25 for a 44% shooting percentage and hit 3-of-8 from behind the arc. Hampton was out-rebounded in the first 16 minutes 15-11.
Taylor Groves was the go-to guy for the Indians in the first half as he scored 14 points including 4-of-5 from outside the arc. Jordan Barnard added eight points connecting on 2-of-4 from the three-point stripe.
Hampton came out of the locker room and once again seemed to find their offensive stride as they outscored the Indians 16-12 in the third period to make it 45-43 game heading into the final eight minutes of regulation.
Both teams turned cold in the fourth period as Hampton went for almost three minutes without a score while East Robertson didn’t make a shot for a span of 7:10 before managing to force the overtime session.
The Bulldogs won the quarter 8-6 and had a chance at a final shot before the Indians forced a turnover by Buckles with three seconds left.
With four minutes added to the clock, tensions were high as both teams cheering section held their breath on every shot opportunity. East Robertson managed to slide in front by five before a last-second three from Whitehead closed the game out at 58-56.
Lyons led the way with 19 points in the contest to close out a stellar high school career with Buckles finishing with 14. Groves finished the contest with a game-high 27 points to lead his team to the championship game on Saturday evening.
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2022 Class 1-A Boy’s Semifinals BlueCross Basketball Championship
East Robertson, 58-56 OT
East Robertson (58)
Taylor Groves 27, Elijah Groves 8, Zach Prince 2, Mason Edison 8, Jordan Barnard 10, Shaun Groves 3.
Hampton (56)
Michael Harrison 6, Isaiah McCoury 3, Cadon Buckles 14, Morgan Lyons 19, Dalton Holtsclaw 6, Hayden Campbell 4, Logan Whitehead 4.
East Robertson …. 12 21 12 6 7 – 58
Hampton ………….. 16 11 16 8 5 – 56
BY THE NUMBERS
45
East Robertson percentage
from beyond the
three-point arc.
9
Blocked shots by the
Indians and total
number of lead changes.
8
Rebounds by Morgan Lyons
to lead in that category.
4
Assists by Isaiah McCoury
and Cadon Buckles to
lead Hampton.
