It’s never too late

Brock Ralphs (left) drives against Crystal Lake Central's Corban Murphy during Hampshire's 52-47 win Saturday in Hampshire. (Lauren M. Anderson – landerson@shawmedia.com)

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HAMPSHIRE – Hampshire made up for an ugly start with a beautiful finish.

The Whip-Purs struggled through the first half against Crystal Lake Central, just thrilled that guard Tyler Crater’s three three-pointers kept them within five points.

Hampshire battled back to tie after three quarters, then managed to hold the lead the rest of the way. Guard Brock Ralphs hit six free throws in the final 42 seconds as the Whips defeated Central, 52-47, in their Fox Valley Conference Fox Division boys basketball game Saturday night.

Crater and forward Tyler Watzlawick each scored 16 points and took turns hitting big baskets in the second half.

“That was probably the worst first half I’ve had a team play, but they righted the ship,” said Hampshire coach Bob Barnett, whose team has won six consecutive games. “We have a tendency to predetermine what we’re going to do on offense instead of reading the defense and taking what they’re giving.”

Hampshire (8-7 overall, 1-1 FVC Fox) has split with Crystal Lake Central and Grayslake Central, the other two teams expected to contend for the division championship. This is Hampshire’s first year in the FVC.

“We know those were the two teams in the [division] to beat,” said Watzlawick, who grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. “We know if we play our kind of basket-ball we can do well in this

conference. Coach [Barnett] gave us a pretty good speech at halftime and woke us up a little bit.”

Central (11-3, 0-1) tied the score at the end of the third quarter on Chase Cane’s three from above the key. The Tigers, who have lost three in a row, had only three points in the third until Cane’s basket after holding a 25-20 halftime advantage.

“I don’t know what it is,” Cane said. “We know we can win these games. Hampshire played great and hit some shots; we let it slip away.”

Hampshire led by as many as seven points in the fourth quarter, but the Tigers kept coming back, although they never had possession with a chance to take the lead. Nick Decoster’s three from the left corner with 10.6 remaining made it 50-47, but the Whips inbounded and Ralphs hit two more free throws.

“We’re not really clicking very well on offense,” said Tigers coach Rich Czeslawski, whose team previously lost twice to Huntley. “We’re playing poorly. It’s one loss and we still have control of our destiny [in the Fox]. We just have to refocus.”

Central led 14-5 after the first quarter before Crater heated up. He scored nine in the second, then added seven in the fourth for his 16.

“We started off real slow,” Crater said. “Fortunately, I was able to hit some shots and keep us in there. Central plays real good defense, and in the second half, we were more composed and Watz did a good job.”