It wasn’t the prettiest game, but Nathan Norris and the Bulldogs will gladly take it.
Hampton pulled away in the final minutes to take a 62-50 over North Greene in the semifinals of the District 1-A tournament behind Norris’ 21 points.
The Bulldogs will now face Cloudland in Tuesday’s District Championship game at Daniel Boone.
The Huskies held the upper hand early as NG jumped out to an 8-0 lead over the first four minutes of the game. Norris broke onto the scoreboard for Hampton, Jose Velsaquez and Wyatt Lyons hit points to close the NG lead to 12-7 after a quarter of play.
Dakota Crumley opened the scoring in the second quarter, but the teams traded shots as Cameron Freshnour put NG up 17-11. Hampton, however, countered with shots from Lyons and Norris that pushed HHS into the lead. The Bulldogs held a 25-20 advantage at the half.
The Huskies opened the third quarter with eight straight points before Norris answered with an and one. A Cody McClain lay-up broke a 34-34 stalemate, but NG countered with a trey to take a 37-36 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
After a Lyons free throw, Coby Jones hit a jumper before the Huskies’ Corben Bernard gave NG a 43-40 lead with just over six minutes to play. A Jones basket sparked a 14-3 run over the next four minutes that proved to be the winning stretch.
Jones was Hampton’s second leading scorer with 10 points. Velasquez added eight points, while McClain added six points.
Postgame Audio
Hampton Head Coach Ned Smith
Photo Gallery
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