ROMNEY, W.Va. — In a low-scoring, defensive slugfest, Hampshire won the Class AAA, Region I Section 2 final, defeating Keyser 42-33 on Friday.
“I’m very happy with the way we fought,” Hampshire head coach Danny Alkire said. “There was a lot of emotion throughout the game. There were a lot of highs, a couple lows. But our guys kept persevering and kept playing.”
It was anyone’s game for the first three quarters. For the first 24 minutes, neither team led by more than two scores.
“It’s what we’ve talked about after most games, if you don’t score, you’re not gonna win,” Keyser head coach Scott Furey said. “We had trouble scoring tonight and it got us. We probably played good enough defense to win a game, but you gotta score points.”
It took until the fourth quarter for either team to take a three-possession lead.
After the Golden Tornado’s (7-17) playoff opener against Berkeley Springs on Tuesday, Furey said that Keyser and Hampshire are “Evenly matched on our best days and we’re really evenly matched on our worst days.”
Alkire agreed, and it showed on Friday.
“I said to our guys, I don’t care what’s going on with their team, what’s going on with our team, when we play it’s a rivalry and always comes down to a game like this,” he said.
Both teams were without arguably their best player. Keyser’s Noah Broadwater (17 points per game) hasn’t played meaningful minutes since December because of a knee injury.
Hampshire’s Jenson Fields (14.4 points per game), was on crutches pregame.
The Trojans (9-14) led the entire first quarter, up 7-2 early.
The Tornado went on a 5-2 run to cut it to 9-7.
No one on either team scored more than one field goal.
“We’ve both struggled this year,” Furey said. “We’ve had struggles, they’ve had struggles. There’s been issues for both of us all year long. But the big thing is, they find a way to make more plays than we did.”
A coast-to-coast layup at the buzzer by Matt Medina gave Hampshire an 11-7 lead after one quarter.
“It was a big play, but it was a heck of a finish with the left hand,” Alkire said. “Matt’s a smart player, he’s a high IQ guy. When he gets downhill, it’s hard to stop.”
It was a one-possession game the entire second quarter. Each team took a lead and the game was tied twice.
Trailing 14-13 midway through the second, Dylan Streisel set up Bryson Richardson for a layup to give the Trojans a 15-14 lead with 2:25 left in the half.
On the ensuing possession, Chase Davis connected with Jack Stanislawczyk in the left corner.
He buried a 3-pointer to tie the score at 17 where it remained at halftime.
“It’s frustrating for them, they’re working so hard to keep the score where we want it,” Furey said. “That’s where we wanna play all the time, in the 40s. But we need to be in the 60s. Our goal is 15 to 10 every quarter. We get 15, they get 10. If we do that every quarter, it’s 60-40.”
The Tornado shot 5 of 13 (38%) from the field in the first half while Hampshire went 7 of 19 (37%).
Keyer committed nine turnovers compared to the Trojans’ five.
Just like the first two quarters, the third remained a two-score difference the entire eight minutes.
With 4.5 seconds remaining, Trenton Timbrook hit a pair of free throws to push Hampshire’s lead to 25-21 after three.
For the first time, a team took a three-possession lead midway through the fourth quarter.
With the Trojans up 29-23, Timbrook assisted Ethan VanMeter on a layup, pushing Hampshire’s lead to 31-23 with 4:25 left.
“We were just getting better looks,” Alkire said. “We just got to the basket and got some layups when we weren’t doing that earlier in the game.”
VanMeter scored seven points with three assists.
The Tornado got it back to within two scores, cutting the deficit to five points on a 3-pointer by Stanislawczyk with 1:12 left.
“It came down to us not making shots,” Furey said. “We were in position to pull through, but we had shots at the rim, we missed free throws. Then you have to start fouling, they get free throws and it just compounds itself.”
Stanislawczyk and Jace Courrier tied for the team-high with nine points.
Medina iced the game at the free-throw line once Keyser started to foul.
He made all six shots in the final minute and went 7 of 8 in the fourth quarter.
“Last week, he hit four in overtime to help secure it, the same thing this week,” Alkire said. “He’s a basketball junkie, he shoots all the time. It’s no surprise to anyone in this program.”
Medina scored a game-high 13 points with nine in the fourth quarter.
Both teams advance to the co-Region I Finals on Wednesday.
Hampshire hosts Weir (10-14) while Keyser heads to North Marion (10-11).
“We’ve had a lot of games where we got close and then let them pull away,” Alkire said. “All that’s irrelevant, now’s the time to do it. Fortunately, our guys are coming around the last four to five games.
The Trojans will look to earn a third trip to Charleston, West Virginia since 2021.
The Tornado seek their first state tournament appearance since 2011.