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Hampshire rolls in Marengo tournament opener

Hampshire made quick work of Woodstock North at the E.C. Nichols Holiday Tournament in Marengo Saturday afternoon, winning 75-42 to advance to a Thursday matchup versus Rockford Christian.

The Whip-Purs found the first quarter slightly uncomfortable, as the Thunder led 7-4 midway through, but senior J.D. Shaw (14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals) came off the bench to sink two 3-pointers and spark the Whip-Purs into the lead for good.

"We just tried to come out here and play the same way we do every day," Shaw said. "Once we got the momentum we just tried to sustain it for the entire game. Obviously, we're hoping to win the tournament, but we're also looking to build some momentum for the rest of the season too."

Hampshire (6-4) went on a 13-2 run to start the second quarter and build a 34-16 lead at the half.

Woodstock North (4-6, 1-0) started the second half strong, outscoring Hampshire 12-7 and closed the lead to 41-28, but four more 3-pointers by Justin Anderson, Kyle Johnson, Jackson Milison and Keynan Davis to close out the third quarter gave the Whip-Purs a commanding 55-34 lead they would never surrender.

Whip-Purs coach Ben Whitehouse felt that once his players allowed the pace of the game to come to them, they found their comfort zone and were able to execute offensively.

"They're (Woodstock North) physical and they scrap, and it's tough to go against them," Whitehouse said. "So we just had to slow ourselves down and we knew that we could attack them inside and just finish in transition. We had to get used to how they rotated, but then once we did, then we just had to execute. Pushing and running is a strength of ours, but it's also a strength for Woodstock North, so we just had to get used to their quickness at certain positions."

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