Hampshire downs CL South for 5th straight

It was an inside-outside combination that Crystal Lake South had no answer for.

With Tyler Watzlawick pounding the inside for 23 points and Brock Ralphs and Tyler Crater bombing away for a combined 29 points, Hampshire was impressive in cruising past Crystal Lake South 58-42 in Fox Valley Conference crossover boys basketball action at South’s Gator Alley Wednesday.

Hampshire, which started the season 2-7, has won 5 in a row to pull even for the season at 7-7.

“We had a team meeting after our loss at DeKalb (holiday tournament) and cleared the air on some things,” said Hampshire coach Bob Barnett. “We have played very good basketball since then. Tonight was a very good effort. Tyler (Watzlawick) played very well and has played very well during the streak and Brock and Tyler (Crater) really shot the ball well from the outside.”

South didn’t have anybody inside to match up with Watzlawick. The 6-foot-6 senior was 7-of-11 from the floor, 9-of-12 from the free throw line and hauled down 10 rebounds.

“The guards were able to get the ball in the seams of the zone to me,” said Watzlawick. “I was able to get a lot of easy shots. It also helped that Brock and Tyler were able to hit some outside shots.”

While Watzlawick was destroying the Gators (2-10) inside, Ralphs and Crater killed the South zone from the perimeter.

Ralphs, who was 6-of-7 from the floor and 3-of-4 from 3-point range, tallied 15 points. Crater was 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and scored 14 points.

“With the way they shot the ball from the outside and with Watzlawick inside Hampshire was tough to stop tonight,” said Crystal Lake South coach Dan DeBruycker. “They had the high-low thing going well. It was like pick your poison.”

The Gators, led by 8 points from Nick Geske that included a pair of 3-pointers, only trailed the Whip-Purs 18-16 after one quarter of play.

Hampshire blitzed the Gators in the second quarter, outscoring the hosts 20-2. Connecting on their first 7 shots of the quarter including 4-of-4 from 3-point range, the Whips scored the first 18 points of the quarter to extend their lead to 36-16 with 2:13 left before the half.

The Gators scored their only points of the quarter on 2 free throws by Will Ahsmann with 36 seconds left in the first half.

Geske was the lone Gator in double figures with 10 points.