From the opening tip, it was all Hampton.
The Bulldogs jumped out early and never looked back as they cruised to a 82-51 victory over South Greene to claim the District 1-A Tournament Championship at Daniel Boone on Friday night.
After South Greene recorded the game’s first point on a free throw, the Bulldogs began pouring on the points as Cheyenne Camillo knocked down a 3-pointer and Coby Jones added a layup to give Hampton a quick 5-1 lead. South Greene added a jumper, but from there it was all Hampton.
Nathan Norris hit a basket and Stone Hutchinson made full use of an and-one that sparked a 15-0 run, that included five Jones points. The Rebels ended the quarter with a trey, but the Bulldogs held a 20-6 lead after a quarter of play.
Jones continued to have the hot hand shooting in the second quarter with four straight points. Hampton extended the lead to 22 points before South Greene could get a point on the board, and a bucket by Stanley Valentine helped give the Bulldogs a 33-8 lead midway through the quarter. The Rebels attempted to trim the lead by a Adam McClain jumper at the buzzer sent Hampton into the locker room with a 42-17 lead.
In the third quarter, South Greene wasn’t going down without a fight as they used a 18-4 run to cut the lead to 13 points with just over four minutes to play. However, Jones knocked down a shot and Valentine scored four points to end the quarter to held Hampton maintain a 54-39 lead entering the final quarter.
Valentine and the Bulldogs slowly extended the lead in the final quarter that sparked the celebration with the Hampton faithful.
Jones led the way with 30 points, while Valentine finished with 18 points. McClain tallied 10 points in the game.
Logan Tweed led South Greene with 17 points.
Hampton opens the Region 1-A tournament on Tuesday at home.
