Burlington Central snaps Hampshire's streak

Friday's 63-55 victory over Hampshire will go down as one of the more memorable victories in recent Burlington Central boys basketball history.

Playing on the road against the archrival Whip-Purs in the final meeting between the schools as Big Northern Conference compatriots, the Rockets found a way to reverse last month's 17-point loss to Hampshire and gave themselves a shot to win the BNC East Division title in the process.

Senior Sam Klein scored 20 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, junior guard Ray Hunnicutt finished with 11 points and 8 rebounds and sophomore guard Ryan Ritchie added 11 points including a huge 3-pointer late in the game as Burlington Central (15-9, 8-1) snapped a 13-game winning streak for Hampshire (19-5, 9-1), which took the floor without injured leading scorer and rebounder Tyler Watzlawick.

Burlington Central can split the Big Northern East title with Hampshire if the Rockets win at Richmond-Burton next Friday. The Whip-Purs clinched their piece of the title with a win last Friday.

Burlington Central's victory also snapped Hampshire's 5-game winning streak in the series despite a 28-point, 5-block performance by Whips sophomore forward Shane Hernandez.

"It's the first time I've beaten Hampshire in my varsity career so it feels great," said Hunnicutt, a varsity starter since his freshman season. "The first time we played them we got trounced. We came back and played hard. We didn't fold. We just won the game."

Hampshire led 32-30 at halftime, but the Rockets opened the third quarter on a 7-0 run, taking the lead for good on a 3-pointer from Ritchie.

It was a disastrous third quarter for Hampshire. The Whip-Purs shot just 3-of-12 from the field and lost the rebounding battle 12-4.

"We didn't make a shot," Hampshire coach Bob Barnett said. "I told them at a timeout that they can't stop Shane inside. Klein has 3 fouls and he's guarding Shane, yet we decide to jack up two threes. I don't get that. It's February, and that's what's bothering me right now the recognition of things that we have to do in order to succeed.

"But we move on."

Barnett said Watzlawick could have played on his healing ankle if necessary, but the veteran coach felt it was more prudent to let his big man recover fully for the upcoming playoffs.

"It's a good thing I think with my head instead of my heart because Watz would have been playing," Barnett said. "We'll never know, I'll just put it that way."

Central led 44-38 entering the fourth quarter, but Hampshire pulled within 49-47 on a free throw by sophomore guard Tyler Crater.

The Rockets responded when Hunnicutt gathered a loose ball and fed Tim Sullivan for a layup with 2:44 to play. Following a Hampshire missed shot, Hunnicutt handed Klein an inside feed for another layup and a 53-47 lead with 2:10 remaining.

"I've never experienced teamwork like we had tonight," Klein said. "It was awesome."

Hernandez answered with a drive for a three-point play to pull the Whip-Purs within 3 points with 1:57 left, but Ritchie subsequently delivered the dagger.

Though the Rockets were told to ice the ball and draw a foul, the sophomore couldn't resist an open 3-point attempt in rhythm from the left corner. Fortunately for him, he buried it for a 6-point lead with 1:12 to go and the Rockets sank 6-of-8 free throws in the final minute to seal the win.

"It was the heat of the moment with us up by 3," Ritchie said of the shot. "Whenever I get an open 3-pointer in rhythm, I feel like I have to shoot it."

"You almost had the headline 'Coach Blocks Player's Shot,'" Burlington Central coach Brett Porto said with a smile after the game. But Porto was pleased with his team's performance overall.

"I was really proud of the way we played," he said. "I thought we made a lot of silly turnovers and we didn't do as well as I wanted to on the boards, but when it came down to making clutch plays at the right time and getting stops at the right time, we obviously did that enough to win tonight."