No. 3 Winnebago rolls over Hampshire

It didn't take long for visiting Winnebago to show Hampshire why it holds the No. 3 ranking in Class 2A.

With the majority of their lineup still intact from last year's Class 2A state semifinal team, the balanced, unbeaten Indians bolted to leads of 18-3 after a quarter and 39-14 at halftime en route to a 64-30 dismantling of the Whip-Purs in Wednesday's Big Northern Conference crossover, a result that left Hampshire boys basketball coach Bob Barnett nearly speechless.

"I'm at a loss," Barnett said. "We'll have a meeting (today). It's frustrating. "They're good, but they're not 40 points better than us."

The Whips held hopes of competing with the Indians based on results against a common opponent: Byron. Winnebago (19-0) squeaked out a 52-48 victory over Byron last Friday, whereas, Hampshire (11-7) won at Byron, 62-40, on Dec. 11. A competitive game never materialized, however.

Seven Winnebago fast-break buckets helped the Indians shoot 17 of 24 from the field in the first half, though they also canned 5-of-7 attempts from 3-point range. Meanwhile, Hampshire struggled offensively. The Whip-Purs sank 5-of-21 shots in the first half and were beaten on the boards 13-9.

"We came out pretty slow," Hampshire sophomore center Tyler Watzlawick said. "It seems like in a lot of games we've had slow starts for some reason. They have a really good team."

It was a team effort by Winnebago, which was led by senior guard Mike Mann (15 points), 6-foot-8 senior forward Chas Cross (11 points, 7 rebounds, 5 blocks), 6-3 senior center AJ Thomas (11 points, 6 rebounds), 6-5 junior forward Brad Reinke (10 points) and speedy sophomore reserve guard Marcus Posley (9 points).

"We were getting real good shots because we had good ball movement," Reinke said. "We expected a tough game since we were coming off a tough game with Byron and (Hampshire) beat them bad. But I thought we played well tonight."

Guard Shyler Ralphs was the only Hampshire player to detect any cracks in the Winnebago armor. The senior scored 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Watzlawick was limited to 5 points and senior guard Justin Bieber was held scoreless on an off shooting night (0 of 8).

Winnebago outscored Hampshire in every quarter and took its biggest lead of the night at 37 points after Cross sank a pair of free throws with 5:38 left in the game.

"We came out sleeping," said Hampshire senior Sarwan Khan (5 points, 4 rebounds). "We had no intensity at all, no post game and too many turnovers (17). They're a long team and they play extremely well. We have to get back in practice and work harder."