Hampshire romps in FVC Fox opener

Hampshire opened Fox Valley Conference Fox Division boys basketball play in style Tuesday, blowing out undermanned Crystal Lake Central, 90-49, before a festive home crowd.

Already leading by double digits at halftime, the Whip-Purs blew the game wide open with an awesome third-quarter shooting display. Hampshire made 11 of 16 shots while outscoring the Tigers 26-10.

Everybody got in on the fun as all 15 Hampshire players played and 14 of them scored. Matt Bridges led 4 players in double figures with 13 points. Brennen Woods and Deion Garcia added 12 apiece and Drew Doran had 11 for the Whip-Purs (7-1, 1-0).

Jake Tuttle grabbed 8 rebounds and Bridges added 4 assists.

The Tigers, playing without 3 regulars, were never in the game. It was tied at 2-2 before Bridges scored 5 straight points, starting a 9-0 run that put Hampshire in control for good.

But it was the third quarter when Hampshire really stood out

"We shot extremely well from the floor," said Hampshire coach Bob Barnett. "We didn't start out that way, but that was one of the better shooting nights I've seen a team have. It was our home court and we got it rolling."

Barnett was asked if his team could play much better than it did in the third quarter.

"No," he said.

With Hampshire ahead 37-16 at halftime, Central actually scored the first 4 points of the second half. However, Hampshire scored the next 16. The Tigers made a couple of 3-pointers late in the period, but Hampshire made its last 5 shots to go up 63-26 after 3 periods.

Hampshire's bench played extensively in the fourth quarter, with Garcia scoring all 12 of his points in that period. Dan Duchaj (8 points) and Matt Llamas (6) also made big contributions off the bench for Hampshire.

For the game, the Whips shot 58 percent while holding the visitors to 32 percent.