SHORT GAP, W.Va. — A combination of a balanced offense and stout defense led Frankfort over Hampshire on Wednesday 51-31.
“It’s our best home game of the season, the energy from the crowd, the kids fed off of that pretty well,” Frankfort head coach Scott Slider said.
The Falcons (10-9) opened on a 12-3 run with Uriah Cutter scoring six of the 12.
He finished with 10 points, three steals and two blocks.
Through the first five minutes, Frankfort was 4 of 6 from the field while the Trojans (12-9) opened 1 of 10.
“They played well and we didn’t,” Hampshire head coach Danny Alkire said.
Andrew Loy and Izaiah Thorpe hit 3-pointers to cut Hampshire’s deficit to 12-9 after one quarter.
As most of the second quarter was a one-score game, the momentum swung in the final seconds.
A technical foul on the Trojans led to Jake Layton and Jeremy Phillips combining for three free throws.
On the ensuing inbound, Phillips pumped faked and made two defenders miss, then buried a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer to put the Falcons in front 25-16 at halftime.
“I’ll be honest, from where I was at, I wasn’t sure it was gonna reach there,” Slider said. “But when he throws it up high, it gets an opportunity, it gets a little air and it hangs.”
Phillips finished with a game-best 19 points after knocking down four triples and shooting 5 of 7 at the line.
He only took nine shots from the field, but was 5 of 9 (56%).
In the first half, Frankfort shot 8 of 15 (53%) from the field compared to Hampshire’s 6 of 29 (21%).
“Friday night against Northern, we played man-to-man,” Slider said. “We were intense the entire night for four quarters. Tonight, we pressed them and dropped into our zone. It was intense the entire time in both those things.”
The Falcons outscored the Trojans 16-11 in the third quarter and 10-4 in the fourth.
“I put on the board every day, play defense and play together as a team,” Slider said. “When we play as a team, we share the basketball. I also put on the board be the best teammate tonight. As long as we’re out there trying to be the best teammate all the time, give the guy that’s open the basketball, helping whenever that guy gets beat defensively. When we’re doing that stuff, we’re tough to beat.”
Carder Monroe led Hampshire with 11 points.
Before the game, Cutter, Jake Layton and Darius Gray were recognized on Senior Night.
Layton scored eight points with two steals and two assists while Gray added four points and three steals.
“Those three guys, I feel like they’ve been here forever,” Slider said. “All three of them are fun kids to be around. I’ve coached them now for four years, I think the world of all three of them.”
Both teams play on Saturday afternoon as the Falcons host East Fairmont at 1 p.m. while the Trojans head to Grafton at 2:30 p.m.