It was a tale of two halves. Unfortunately for Hampton, North Greene held the upper hand at the end.
Hampton was denied their fourth straight District 1-A crown as North Greene rallied to take a 48-47 victory on Tuesday in the District 1-A Championship game. It is North Greene’s first District 1-A title since 1990.
The Bulldogs will host a Region 1-A Quarterfinal on Saturday.
The Huskies held the upper hand in the opening minutes by jumping out to a 5-2 run. Dakota Crumley snapped the NG run, and Wyatt Lyons and Jose Velasquez hit back-to-back shots to put Hampton back in front.
The teams swapped the lead before Butler and Lyons scored back-to-back shots to give the Bulldogs a 14-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Hampton took control in the second quarter.
Crumley opened the scoring and sparked a 9-0 run that was capped by a Dru Owens 3-pointer and an Adam McClain bucket as HHS help a 12-point lead. After a Husky basket, Hampton pushed the lead to 15 points. Butler drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 31-17 halftime lead.
The tide began to change in the third quarter.
Lyons put Hampton up 15 points with two quick buckets. North Greene, however, went on a methodical 15-0 run over the next six minutes and change. McClain put Hampton on the board with a free throw in the closing seconds of the period as HHS held a 36-34 lead entering the final eight minutes.
The fourth quarter was a title bout as the teams traded points. A Lyons jumper gave the Bulldogs a 43-40 advantage with over three minutes to play. The Huskies, however, answer with a long trey from Andy Stevens. Cameron Fresher put NG in front with a long 3-pointer with 2:32 on the clock.
Hampton’s Butler knocked down a shot as HHS pulled within one with just over a minute to play. After North Greene added a shot on the other end, Lyons knocked down two free throws with 22.5 seconds to pull Hampton back within one.
Hampton was able to get the ball back on a steal but was unable to connect on the buzzer-beating shot.
Lyons had 16 points to lead Hampton. Butler and Crumley finished with eight points apiece. Owens and Velazquez scored six points each.
Wesley Dotson had 16 points – 10 of which came in the pivotal third quarter run – to lead North Greene.
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