In front of a capacity crowd, Cloudland and Hampton put on a show.
The Lady Bulldogs and Bulldogs picked up important road wins at Cloudland on Friday night in front as the Hampton girls edged the Lady ‘Landers 34-30 and Ned Smith’s Bulldogs picked up a 61-48 win with a key third quarter run.
The girls’ game was an even battle from the opening tip-off. Hampton, who was without Head Coach Bud Hazelwood due to illness, jumped out to an early 4-0 lead with points from Megan Garland and Alexus Grubbs. The Lady ‘Landers battled back as Shian Strickland scored five straight points to push CHS in front. The teams traded shots for the remainder of the quarter as a Strickland trey gave Cloudland a 11-10 heading to the second quarter.
After Trinity Vines hit a jumper for CHS, Hampton reeled off the next nine points with four points from Garland. However, Payton Johnson scored three points to close the gap to 19-16 at the half.
The Lady Bulldogs pushed the lead to six points to open the third quarter, but Cloudland answered with a 6-2 run. Hampton’s Hope Bridgeman and Grubbs hit shots to push the lead back to five points at the end of the third quarter.
Strickland hit back-to-back treys to start the final period for Cloudland, but Hampton ended the game on a 6-1 run to secure the game in the final five minutes.
Garland had 14 points for Hampton, while Grubbs added 11 points. Shyanne Tuelle had six points.
Strickland recorded 17 points to lead all scorers. Erin Julian added five points for Cloudland.
In the nightcap, Jesse Potter and the ‘Landers jumped out early as Potter hit two 3-pointers to give Cloudland an 8-4 lead. Coby Jones answered for Hampton with four straight points in a span of 15 seconds. A late Preston Benfield shot cut the Bulldogs lead to 13-12 at the end of the first quarter.
The teams traded points and the lead early in the second quarter as a Benfield jumper gave CHS a 21-17 lead with just over two minutes to play. Nathan Norris and Jones added shots for Hampton that gave the Bulldogs a 25-23 lead at the half.
The third quarter started much like the second as the teams traded points when Chris Wagoner hit a shot to give Cloudland a 30-29 lead. The Bulldogs, however, took over with a 12-2 run over the next four minutes to take a 41-32 advantage into the fourth quarter.
The ‘Landers were able to trim the lead to eight points, but Jones and the Bulldogs answered each time to take the win.
Jones led all scorers with 21 points, while Norris added 11 points. Wyatt Lyons, Jose Velazquez and Dakota Crumley had seven points a piece.
Benfield and Potter led Cloudland with 13 points apiece, while Colby Birchfield added seven points.
Postgame Audio
Hampton Girls’ Assistant Coach Garry Smith
Cloudland Girls’ Head Coach Lucas Andrews
Hampton Boys’ Head Coach Ned Smith
Cloudland Boys’ Head Coach Gary Harrison
Photo Gallery
For more pictures, click here.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”204″ gal_title=”011516_CloudlandHampton”]
