’Dogs upend Unaka; Lady Bulldogs prevail by large margin

By Rick Sheek

Unaka no doubt controlled the first half, but Hampton poured it on after the break.

The Bulldogs disposed of the Rangers 69-60 in Tuesday night’s Watauga Valley Conference basketball action at at Van Huss- White Gymnasium.

Unaka (9-12, 1-3) led by 12 in the first quarter and held a 33-31 halftime advantage. However, the Bulldogs quickly assumed control to begin the third quarter.

“They came out and they shot the ball extremely well,” Hampton coach Ned Smith said. “They shot the lights out of it, played real well. We just kept playing back, changed our defense there and we just kept battling back.

“I thought we shot the ball better in the second half, and we played good defense.”

Johnny Fields knotted the affair. Wesley Murray and Lane Smith followed with a pair of 3-pointers and the Bulldogs (13-10, 4-1) were up 39-33.

Hampton led 53-39 heading in the fourth quarter.

“I challenged them at half time,” Unaka coach Aaron Dugger said of his players. “I said the first three minutes of this half is going to dictate how it’s going to play out, and it did. We had a couple of turnovers, and they got loose for a couple of threes.

“Then we had another turnover, they get a bucket and we’re down eight. That little stretch right there is what got us behind.”

Cody McClain paced the Bulldogs with 25 points, nailing three 3-pointers. Lane Smith added 17 points, also knocking down three 3s, and hauled in eight rebounds.

Tyler Trusler totaled 12 points and eight boards. Murray contributed nine points and eight rebounds.

The Rangers got 23 points, including seven 3-pointers, and five steals from Logan Carrier. Billy Bales chipped in 17 points and seven boards.

“Unaka’s a good team,” Smith said. “They’ve got Carrier and the Bales kid, and they shot the lights out of it. They play hard, too.

“They play good defense. They battled. They’re scrappy.”

Spencer Nave totaled 12 points and six steals before fouling out in the final minute. Austin Clawson made two steals.

Hampton held a 36-22 rebounding advantage and was 12 of 17 at the foul line. The Rangers were 5 of 12.

“We’ve got to regroup,” Dugger said. “We’ve got to keep getting better, and we’ve got to keep going to work. This one stings, but we’ve got another test on Friday.

“It doesn’t get any easier. We don’t have time to sit around and sulk. We’ve got to get back to work.”

Carrier’s final 3-pointer cut the deficit to 67-60 in the final minute.

“I thought our guys didn’t quit,” Smith said. “I thought playing good defense was a big key for us. We played a lot better defense in the second half.”

 

GIRLS 

Hampton………………………….. 82 

Unaka………………………………. 57 

Senior night didn’t prove to be any difficulty for the Lady Bulldogs, led by Dorothy Dugger’s 18 points and four 3-pointers.

“The biggest thing I liked was we were ready to play, despite the distractions,” Hampton coach Leon Tolley said. “We came out a little more mentally ready tonight, and that got us off to a good start.”

The Bulldogs (15-8, 4-1) also got 14 points from Danielle Guinn and 12 from Paige Dugger. Monica Olvera scored nine, Paige Montgomery totaled eight with nine rebounds, Alexis Bowers hit seven points and Jessica Burleson had six points and seven boards.

Dorothy Dugger, Montgomery and Kaylee Birchfield made two steals apiece. Sam Tolley grabbed six rebounds and Haley Trusler pulled down five.

“I thought we missed a lot of easy shots around the basket,” Unaka coach Wes Wright said. “They made a lot of shots around the basket. We didn’t do a very good job on the boards.

“Paige Montgomery had a great night around the boards, finishing and getting rebounds and put-backs. Limiting us to one shot, she did a good job.”

Kassie Winters poured in 20 points for the Rangers (10-13, 0-4). Alicia Colbaugh added 18 with five steals.

Brandi Ensor totaled seven points, eight rebounds and two steals. Winters pulled down seven boards, Brittany Lawson grabbed six and Colbaugh snared five.

“Certainly wasn’t what I was expecting,” Tolley said. “They are a lot like us, and I thought that we would have to out-score them. Because they’ve been playing as well as anybody in the area.”

Hampton surged to a 14-point lead in the first period, behind 11 points from Guinn and eight from Paige Dugger. An Olvera 3-pointer put the Bulldogs up 30-15 early in the second quarter, and it was 48-23 at the break.

“Guinn, Paige Dugger — both in the first half hurt us quite a bit,” Wright said. “They really didn’t throw anything out that we weren’t expecting. They just executed a lot better than we did.

“We just didn’t do a very good job finishing tonight. Hopefully we can correct that before Friday, because UH will be a big game for us.”

Colbaugh and Winters each drained three 3-pointers.

It was 66-45 heading in the final period. Hampton ruled the glass 45-33.

The Bulldogs were 10 of 20 at the line. Unaka was 12 of 23.

“To our credit, we’ve been playing well, too,” Tolley said. “We’ve played a rough schedule, and I think that’s showing up a little bit right now — because we’ve played about everybody there is. We’ve taken our lumps, but we’ve dished some out, too. We’re a lot better now than we were.”

 

JUNIOR VARSITY 

BOYS 

Hampton 80, Unaka 67 

Austin Dugger paced the Bulldogs with 16 points.

Josh Stout added 15, all in the second half. Austin Cornett scored 11.

Unaka got 30 points from Jeffrey Yerkes. Alex Baltaji talled 16.

 

GIRLS 

Hampton 87, Unaka 34 

Kim Swearingen pumped in 23 points to fuel the rout.

Kaitlin Irick and Lakin Street netted 20 apiece.