Hampshire hangs on to beat Sterling
Hampshire’s boys basketball team overcame its mistakes — this time.
The Whip-Purs survived a potentially fatal turnover and 2 missed one-and-ones in the closing minutes to hold on for a 66-65 victory against Sterling in the final round of the Chuck Dayton Basketball Tournament in DeKalb Wednesday.
Tyler Crater rebounded his own miss and drove for a layup with less than a minute left to put the Whip-Purs ahead for good. Sterling had a last chance to win, but Jose Knox was called for a push off with 2.9 seconds left.
Brock Ralphs had 21 points and Crater finished with 13 for Hampshire, which went 4-1 at the tournament.
With the Whips leading 64-61, they turned the ball over, with Knox getting the steal and driving layup. After a quick miss, Chris Fritsch grabbed the rebound for Sterling, leading to Patrick Petroskey’s go-ahead basket.
“They called a timeout when we had a three-point lead. We drew out everything we wanted to do and we did it, except we put the ball on the floor,” said Hampshire coach Bob Barnett. “Then, with a one-point lead, we come down and with no passes take the ball to the net. Those are the kinds of mistakes that we continue to make, and we can’t.
“We did overcome it, we persevered. That’s exactly what I told them after the game, ‘We came out on top this time, but those mistakes that we make over and over and over ... We’ve got to start learning sometime. Things have got to start sinking in.”
The closing sequence was a fitting end to a wild game that saw 6 lead changes in the fourth quarter alone.
Tyler Watzlawick added 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 blocks for Hampshire (5-7). Ryan Cork had 8 points and 6 boards.
Petroskey finished with 19 points for Sterling, which also got 16 points from Knox and 13 rebounds from Fritsch.
The Whips went on a 9-3 run to take a 62-58 lead on Watzlawick’s old-fashioned 3-point play, but the Warriors answered with a 7-0 spurt of their own.