In a back-and-forth battle between two county rivals, Hampton had the last word on Saturday evening.
The Bulldogs outlasted Cloudland for a 60-52 victory in the District 1-A Semifinals at Daniel Boone. Hampton advanced to the District 1-A Championship game against University High on Tuesday, while Cloudland will take on North Greene in the consolation game.
It was a back-and-forth battle from the onset.
Hunter Shell shot Cloudland into the lead early, but Rocky Croy answered for the Bulldogs on the other end. After Hampton used a 7-0 run to take the lead, Cloudland answered with a 6-0 run of their own – capped by a Shell trey in the closing seconds – to take a 16-15 lead into the second quarter.
Hampton jumped back into the lead with an Izack Hill 3-pointer and Croy added another trey to give HHS a 23-18 lead midway through the quarter. Cloudland roared back with an 8-0 run sparked by a Jed Childress jumper.
The ‘Landers held onto a 25-25 lead at the half.
The game of runs continued in the second half.
Both teams swapped runs as they battled for control of the game. A late CHS run gave Cloudland a 38-37 after three complete quarters.
In the final quarter, Hampton reeled off a 12-2 run after a Garrett Vines jumped to take a 49-43 lead with just under five minutes to play. Cloudland, however, didn’t go down without a fight as Conner Birchfield and Hu. Shell hit key shots to pull the gap back to one point.
A Croy jumped snapped the run and Hampton was able to keep Cloudland at bay to secure the win.
Croy led Hampton with a 21-point performance, while Garrett Vines had 13 points. Jordan Bentley scored 12 points in the win.
Shell finished with a game-high 27 points to pace Cloudland. Birchfield had 12 points, while Bentley Gilbert added six points.
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