Hampton pulled away when it mattered.
The Bulldogs used a late run to take a 62-42 victory over Cosby in the Region 1-A quarterfinals on Saturday night.
With the win, Hampton moves on to take on Hancock County in the Region 1-A semifinal. That game will be played on Tuesday at Walters State with tipoff slated for 6p.
The opening quarter saw the two squads trade shots.
Morgan Lyons opened the scoring with a jumper, but the Cosby countered on the other end. After the Eagles used a quick 5-0 run to take a 12-9 advantage, Conor Burleson, Dalton Holtsclaw, and Lyons combined for a 5-0 run to regain the lead.
Cosby, however, saw Paxton Coggins hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Cosby a 15-14 advantage after a quarter of play.
The Eagles pushed the lead to six points, Lyons scored five straight, while Logan Whitehead added two buckets to kickstart a 14-3 run to end the half.
Michael Harrison hit a shot in the closing seconds of the quarter as Hampton held a 28-23 advantage at the half.
Cosby’s Shayden O’Dell opened the third quarter with a bucket to pull the upset-minded Eagles back within three points, but Burleson answered to extend the lead back out.
After another Cosby bucket, Burleson and Cadon Buckles hit back-to-back shots to have Hampton a little breathing room.
The Eagles, however, used a pair of O’Dell buckets to pull within one near the midpoint of the half. Buckles and Isaiah McCoury answered for Hampton and the Bulldogs were able to stretch the lead to 44-38 after the third quarter.
In the final quarter, it was all Hampton.
Burleson scored six straight to open the quarter and Hampton took off to the races with buckets from Whitehead and Lyons pushing the run further.
The Bulldogs outscored Cosby 18-4 in the frame to secure the win.
Burleson had 14 points to lead the way, while Lyons and Buckles tallied 13 points apiece.
Whitehead, Holtsclaw, and Harrison had six points apiece.
O’Dell led Cosby with 13 points.
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