Boys Basketball: Hampshire hangs on to beat Grayslake North

Updated: January 21, 2012 11:18PM

The roller-coaster season for the Hampshire boys basketball team continued Saturday in Grayslake. This time the Whip-Purs were able to hang on for a 54-52 Fox Valley Fox win over Grayslake North.

Hampshire (10-8, 3-2) trailed most of the game Saturday, but was able to take the lead in the fourth quarter thanks to a three-pointer by guard Brock Ralphs with 58 seconds left.

Grayslake North (10-6, 4-1) trailed by two points when the Knights Mark Hall was fouled from three-point range with 0:15 seconds left. Hall hit 2 of 3 from the foul line to tie the game 52-52.

The Whip-Purs would take about 12 seconds off the clock when Tyler Watzlawick put Hampshire up by two with 3.9 seconds left. Grayslake North would run out of time before they were able to attempt a shot and Hampshire would go on for a big road win.

Hampshire coach Bob Barnett was pleased with how his team hung on until to the end on Saturday.

“We were down most of the game, but didn’t give up,” Barnett said. “We have really grown up as a team as the season progressed. Grayslake North can really shoot the ball and presents a very tough challenge defensively. This was a great win for our program.”

The Whip-Purs struggled shooting the ball from outside, which has been a trend of late. Luckily the Knights had a difficult time stopping Shane Hernandez and Watzlawick inside which kept them in the game. Watzlawick had 19 points and nine rebounds while Hernandez added 16 points and eight rebounds for Hampshire.

Grayslake North led most of the game Saturday, but couldn’t put Hampshire away when they had the chance. AJ Fish scored 19 points and added five rebounds and four assists for the Knights. Danny Mateling added nine points for Grayslake North.

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