Goebbert, Hampshire steamroll Marengo

The Hampshire and Marengo boys basketball teams got started a bit late in their Saturday matinee after the sophomore game went overtime.

There was little danger of that once the varsity squads got going. Hampshire jumped out to an 18-0 lead and cruised to a 77-37 Big Northern East win in Marengo.

James Goebbert netted 15 points to lead four Whip-purs in double figures. Hampshire (7-6, 2-0) shot 63 percent from the field while moving over .500 for the season and remaining unbeaten in the conference.

"Our defensive pressure is what set the tone, right from the get-go," said Hampshire coach Bob Barnett.

Indeed, the Whips got steals on four of Marengo's first five possessions, converting all of them into points. The Whips used the defensive pressure to set up easy baskets in transition. When they weren't shooting layups, it was open 3-pointers.

A 3-pointer by Justin Bieber, who scored 12 points on four 3-pointers, made it 13-0 and prompted Marengo's second timeout just four minutes into the game.

"Just like I said after Winnebago beat us at home and they shot 60-some percent, and I said, 'Look where they're shooting from,' " Barnett said. "We had a lot of good looks inside, a lot of fastbreak points."

Mike Kozenczak scored 14 points off the bench, and Will Bush added 11 for Hampshire, but everybody got into the act.

All 15 Hampshire players saw action, and a dozen scored.

Hampshire led 43-16 at halftime and continued to pull away in the second half, despite going deep into its bench. Hampshire outscored the Indians 20-9 in the fourth quarter, long after the starters had gotten the rest of the afternoon off. Danny Pace had 5 points and 3 rebounds, mostly in the fourth quarter.

Hayden Creasy came off the bench to lead Marengo with 11 points, as the Indians' reserves outscored their starters 23-14.

Adam Hart was the only Indians starter who was an offensive force, scoring 6 of his 8 points in the second quarter.