Huntley comes from 14 down to beat Hampshire
No coach likes heading into the locker room down double digits at half, but having a pair of senior leaders like Michael Parks and Matthew Seng made that situation easier for Huntley's Will Benson in a Fox Valley Conference matchup at Hampshire Wednesday night.
Parks delivered a fiery talk to his teammates with Seng joining in, and Huntley responded like a different team in the second half. The Red Raiders used an 18-1 run in the third quarter to erase a 14-point deficit on their way to a 60-57 victory.
"We were playing pretty poor in the first half defensively and turning the ball over," Parks said. "I got on them a little bit and Matt helped too. Me and Matt being the two seniors who played a fair amount last year, we feel we know what we need to do to win so we try to tell the other guys what they need to hear. It was definitely playing with more heart and being smart with the ball."
Benson and his assistants were in the hallway outside the locker room and could hear their senior leaders.
"To be honest we sat out here another minute or two because that's what we need," Benson said. "The best teams are led by your seniors and your leaders. I didn't say much. They said it."
Hampshire (3-10, 1-4) got off to a sizzling start, shooting 59 percent in the first half (13 of 22) before making just 6 of 22 shots (27.2) percent in the second half.
Tied at 14 late in the first quarter, the Whip-Purs went on a 13-0 run highlighted by a steal and buzzer-beating 25-foot jumper by Nathan Cork to end the first quarter. Cork drilled another 3 to start the second quarter, and Billy Dumoulin followed with a conventional 3-point play for a 27-14 lead.
"That was a good stretch," Hampshire coach Ben Whitehouse said. "That is what we are capable of. But it's a matter of consistency."
Up 39-28 at halftime and then 42-28 after another 3 from Cork, the Whip-Purs made just one free throw over the final seven minutes of the third quarter. Huntley (5-9, 3-3) deflected 11 passes in that span that helped force 8 turnovers, and a drive by Seng capped a run of 13 straight bringing the Red Raiders within 42-41.
Luke Mahnke scored inside tying the game at 43, and Cory Knipp's corner 3 put Huntley ahead 46-43 going to the fourth quarter, its first lead since 12-10.
"We got a lot more deflections, got us right back in the game," Benson said. "I'm happy for our seniors. It's a great group of kids. We've got a chance to make this a special memory for our group especially them being down at half like that and having an opportunity to come back. I'm happy for them we were able to do that."
Huntley never relinquished the lead in the fourth quarter, taking its biggest lead at 54-47 on Chris Costantino's layup after a steal and feed from Parks.
The Whip-Purs got within 3 twice, first 56-53 on Dumoulin's basket and then 58-55 on Frederick Powell's 2 free throws with 30 seconds left. Dumoulin's steal gave Hampshire the ball back with a chance to tie, but Powell's runner didn't fall, and Seng hit a pair of free throws with :19 left to ice the game.
Seng led all scorers with 19 points, and Costantino and Knipp both added 12.
"We know we can come back from anything now," Parks said. "Our guys stuck to it. Gives us a big confidence-boost."
All 57 Hampshire points came from its starters including Powell (17), Dumoulin (16 and 8 rebounds), and Cork (13).
"Just little things," Whitehouse said of what went wrong after halftime. "We didn't space ourselves on the pressbreaker. We turned it over too much. We gave up too many offensive boards, and we missed many, many layups."