Hampshire overcomes Marengo stall

Marengo slowed down Hampshire, but the Indians couldn't stop the Whip-Purs.

The Indians let the air out of the ball from their first possession, but the Whips took advantage of the chances they did get and beat the Indians, 39-20, in Big Northern East boys basketball action in Marengo Tuesday night.

Tyler Watzlawick scored 16 points and Pat Azizi added 11 for Hampshire (9-4, 2-0).

“I'll be honest with you, I wasn't expecting them to stall,” said Hampshire coach Bob Barnett.

But Hampshire adjusted well enough. After Marengo jumped out to a 6-2 lead, Hampshire outscored the Indians 22-5 the rest of the first half. The Whips scored 11 straight points at one juncture, with Watzlawick getting the last 9 of those.

“Defensively, I thought we did OK,” said Barnett. “They weren't really looking to attack (the defense). Then when they did, our bigs got a couple of blocks.”

Hampshire forced 10 first-half turnovers while committing just one — a lazy pass in the final minute of the half. The Whips outrebounded the hosts 18-13, with Watzlawick leading the way with 4 boards.

Azizi made three 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes, scoring 11 of Hampshire's first 13 points. Then Watzlawick took over, scoring 11 points in the second quarter.

Hampshire took advantage of backdoor cuts, with Watzlawick and David Wilson feeding each other.

Anthony Mallegni had 8 points and 6 rebounds to lead Marengo, which failed to score in double digits in any quarter and made just 9 field goals in the game.