Hot-shooting Hampshire cools Cary-Grove
Maybe, Hampshire boys basketball coach Ben Whitehouse should consider bringing junior standout Collin Woods off the bench.
There is little chance of that.
Woods, who didn't start because of a missed practice and entered the game with 5:09 left in the first quarter, scored 23 points with three 3-pointers to lead the Whip-Purs to a 75-67 win over Cary-Grove in Fox Valley Conference action in Hampshire Friday night.
"It is my fault I missed the practice and I take responsibility for that," said Woods, who entered the game with the Whip-Purs leading 10-9. "The guys were playing well when I came in and I could just fit in. I felt good coming in and the guys got me the ball in good position."
Woods was 7-of-10 from the field, 3-of-5 from 3-point range and 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
"Collin handled the situation well and came in the game and really gave us a lift," said Whitehouse. "He played with a lot of confidence."
The Whip-Purs (9-5, 5-1) were red hot from beyond the arc in the first half, connecting on 9-of-12 from 3-point range for 75 percent in leading 49-38 at intermission. Woods collected 3 treys, Kyle Johnson 2,
Nick Erickson 2, Jeremy Rosa 1 and Justin Anderson had a 3 to beat the buzzer at halftime which gave Hampshire an 11-point advantage after 16 minutes.
"We did identify their 3-point shooters but didn't do a good job of guarding them," said Cary-Grove coach Adam McCloud. "I thought our offense was fine with 38 points. We were on line for 80 points. We had to do a better job on defense."
The Trojans (11-5, 3-3) increased the defensive intensity in the second half holding Hampshire to 26 points. It wasn't enough.
Hampshire's biggest lead was 56-42 with 2:13 left in the third quarter on Anderson's second 3 of the game.
Cary-Grove refused to quit and mounted a valiant comeback.
The Trojans took the lead at 65-64 on a 3 by Beau Frericks with 2:33 remaining.
That advantage was short-lived.
The Whip-Purs rode Woods the rest of the way as he scored 8 of the team's final 11 points.
Woods was backed by Anderson with 12 points, Rosa scored 11 and Erickson and JD Shaw chipped in with 10 apiece.
"The kids did a great job of keeping their poise against a very good Cary-Grove team," said Whitehouse. "This was a great win for us."
Frericks paced Cary-Grove with 27 points including 4 treys while Frank Jakubicek scored 13 including 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
"I like the way we played defense in the second half," said McCloud. "We switched on everything and guarded their 3-point shooters better."