Boys Basketball: Grayslake North topples Hampshire

Updated: February 11, 2012 11:43PM

With hopes of a second-place finish in the Fox Valley Fox very much alive, Hampshire let one slip away on Saturday afternoon in a 50-48 loss to Grayslake North.

Down 11 midway through the third quarter, the Knights fought back and took their first lead since the first quarter when junior A.J Fish swished a fade-away from the baseline for a 47-46 advantage with 1:50 remaining in the game.

The Whip-Purs (13-10, 5-4) came right back and retook the lead after a putback from Shane Hernandez. After forcing a stop on defense, Hampshire had a chance to add to its lead, but missed the front end of a one-and-one with 29.6 seconds remaining.

The Knights (15-7, 7-2) took advantage, and with 15.9 seconds left, Fish was fouled on a drive to the hoop — much to the dismay of the Hampshire crowd.

Fish sank both free throws to give North a 49-48 lead. On the ensuing possession, Hampshire senior Brock Ralphs saw his running floater hit off the front of the rim with 5 seconds remaining, and North’s Mark Hall corralled the rebound and was fouled with 3.2 seconds to go. After sinking the first free throw, the second caromed off the back of the rim, but Hampshire couldn’t immediately gain possession off the long miss as the final seconds ticked away.

“We missed some shots. We missed a lot of shots,” said Hampshire coach Bob Barnett. “We still had opportunities to win. We missed a one-and-one. We were in the bonus for a long time in the fourth quarter and didn’t get to the free-throw line. We absolutely shot ourselves in the foot.”

Hampshire finished 43 percent (21-for-49) from the field, and went just 3-for-15 from three-point range, including 1-for-9 in the first half. The Knights had their struggles from the field as well, finishing 17-for-42 (40 percent), but connected on 13-of-16 free throw attempts. Meanwhile, the Whips only got to the line five times in the game and scored just six points in the fourth.

Hampshire took its biggest lead of the game, 38-27, with 4:30 remaining in the third quarter after a basket by senior Tyler Watzlawick, who finished with a game-high 15 points. However, the Knights immediately responded by finally getting into their transition-style offense and closed the quarter on a 13-4 run to head into the fourth down 42-40.

“They got a couple kickouts there, which we talked about. They had a nice little run,” Barnett said. “We got up 11, next thing you know it’s a four-point game and they didn’t go away.”

Added North coach Todd Grunloh: “That game was the mirror image of the last game we played against Hampshire. We were up six to 10 points the whole game and they came back late and took the lead. Talk about two even teams playing two completely different styles. We said whoever executes their style better is going to win. In the first half no question, (Hampshire) did. We feel fortunate to come out with a victory.”

Fish finished with a team-high 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Hall scored 10 points for the Knights.

Ryan Cork and Ralphs each tallied nine points for Hampshire.

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