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Boys Basketball: Hampshire drops first FVC game at Grayslake Central
Updated: December 9, 2011 10:55PM
Grayslake Central’s hospitality toward Fox Valley Fox newcomer Hampshire only lasted so long Friday night.
The host Rams stumbled through the first quarter as the Whip-Purs made themselves comfortable in their league debut by building a double-digit lead. But Grayslake Central flipped a switch and blew Hampshire out of the water in the second quarter to pave the way to a 64-53 victory.
The Rams got no points from the dynamic duo of senior guard Jordan Taylor and 6-foot-9 center Casey Boyle through the first eight minutes, but they made up for the slow starts by dominating the rest of the way.
Taylor finished with a game-high 24 points and Boyle added 16 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. Boyle also ignited a run of 17 unanswered points to close the first half with his dunk early in the second quarter as Grayslake Central turned a 12-2 deficit after the first period into a 26-16 lead at the break.
“In the second quarter we reset the tempo, came out more aggressive and focused on having less turnovers,” Taylor said. “I think it was Casey’s dunk that sparked us a little bit and we just came out strong after that.”
The Rams had trouble cracking Hampshire’s 2-3 zone early as they committed eight turnovers and made only 1-of-9 from the field in the first quarter. The Whips enjoyed a 16-7 lead when Brock Ralphs scored with 5:45 left in the second quarter, but the basket proved to be Hampshire’s last points of the half as Boyle got Grayslake Central (5-3, 1-0) going in earnest soon thereafter by charging down the lane for his two-handed slam.
The Whips got back on track in the third quarter as Tyler Crater buried three three-pointers to help cut the Rams lead to 43-39 by the end of the third quarter. Hampshire (2-5, 0-1) pulled within 47-44 on a pair of Shane Hernandez free throws with 5:17 left in the fourth, but Grayslake Central responded with six straight points to regain a comfortable cushion it wouldn’t relinquish.
“I think some of our young kids were a little bit intimidated,” Hampshire coach Bob Barnett said. “I know we were getting bumped a lot, but this is a new league and we have to get used to it.”
Boyle had 10 of his points in the second quarter and Taylor sank 13-of-14 free throws to help keep the Whips at bay. Sean Geary added eight points and three steals and Savonte McWilliams had six points, six rebounds and five steals for Grayslake Central.
“It’s kind of Casey and the midgets out there, so we’re not going to win a lot of halfcourt battles, especially against a team playing a zone,” Grayslake Central coach Brian Moe said. “We did a nice job of picking up the tempo in the second quarter and beyond.”
Tyler Watzlawick finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds for Hampshire despite sitting out most of the second quarter with foul trouble. The Whips also got 12 points from Crater and 10 points from Hernandez.
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