ROMNEY, W.Va. — No. 4 seed Hampshire had a balanced scoring attack, both in who was scoring and how.
It ended up being too much for Keyser, the fifth seed, to overcome as the Trojans (13-10) held on to win 55-51 in Friday’s Class AAA, Region II semifinal.
“Regardless of being a playoff game, it’s Keyser,” Hampshire head coach Danny Alkire said. “Anytime you’re playing Keyser, I always say that’s our biggest rivalry. I don’t wanna say we hate each other, but it’s a traditional rivalry. We always wanna get that game, being a playoff game on top of it, can’t ask for more.”
The third quarter seemed to decide it as the Golden Tornado (10-13) were held to five points after scoring 23 in the first half.
Hampshire led 26-23 at halftime and opened the quarter on a 10-3 run.
“I thought as always, our guys are gonna give a good effort, and they gave it a good effort.” Keyser head coach Scott Furey said. “Third quarter really hurt us, only getting five (points). We can’t have any quarters with five points in varsity basketball, period.”
After Keyser was called for a travel, Trenton Timbrook drove by the defense for a layup to put the Trojans ahead 36-26 with 3:14 left in the third.
Trailing 38-26 heading to the fourth, the Tornado rallied with a 20-11 run over the next seven minutes.
Kameron Samples hit a 3-pointer with 53.1 seconds to play that cut Keyser’s deficit to 49-46.
“No matter what lineup we’ve got out there, we know we’re gonna keep playing hard,” Furey said. “We’ve heard that from almost every coach we’ve played. We do appreciate that for sure from our guys, but we talk about so many times some of the shots we miss right at the rim. That’s the way the ball bounces, I watch NCAA basketball, NBA basketball and they do the same things.”
Hampshire iced the game, shooting 6 of 8 at the line in the final minute.
“It was similar to the last time we were over there,” Alkire said. “It was a close game, and then our ball pressure and our press separated us in the fourth quarter.”
In the first half, the Trojans came out with a balanced offensive attack.
After settling for 3-pointers early in several games this season, Hampshire showed more of a willingness to drive in the first half.
Of the Trojans nine field goals, five came from beyond the arc.
“We’ve done good all three games this year getting to the paint against their guards,” Alkire said. “That was the emphasis I tried to keep pushing, get to the paint and kick it or dump it off.”
On the other side, Keyser lived in the paint, scoring eight of nine first-half field goals inside.
The first half featured seven lead changes and five ties as neither side led by more than four points.
“We were hoping to run them off the 3-point line and they end up hitting a bunch of shots,” Furey said. “It was more balanced by them than we wanted it to be, but a lot of that stuff came from them getting offensive rebounds.”
Bryson Richardson and Andrew Loy led Hampshire with 10 points a piece.
Richardson added a pair of assists along with a steal and a block.
Braylon McGreevy scored a game-high 18 points, shooting 6 of 8 at the line and scored nine of Keyser’s 23 points in the fourth quarter.
“The way he went from the beginning of the year to the end of the year is night and day,” Alkire said of Keyser’s McGreevy. “The way he’s progressed scoring and putting the ball in the basket is crazy. He’s playing great. I’m voting him for All-State and that’s what I just told him.”
Keyser’s Evan Ack finished with 12 points and four assists while Lane Champion scored in double figures for the first time this season with 10 points.
Ack, Samples, Ian Spiker and Layton Valentine played their final game for the Golden Tornado while Damarian Allen missed the game due to injury.
“Last year we lost six seniors, five guards who were super athletic,” Furey said. “This group might not be as athletic, but this group has a very high basketball IQ. They play a lot of ball and know where to be and how to get things done. We’re gonna miss that, having Evan and Ian out there, knowing little nuances to put a certain spin on the ball or throw it two steps ahead.”
The Trojans advance to the co-Region Final on Thursday at No. 1 Bridgeport (22-1), who beat Hampshire 81-42 on Jan. 25.
The Trojans would clinch a trip to the state tournament for the fourth time in five seasons with an upset victory.
“They’re just so disciplined,” Alkire said. “Their coach Dave Marshall is a heck of a coach. He does a great job as an overall unit, they’re just disciplined. They do what they have to. They got great shooters and they got a big guy that’s gonna play football at WVU (Carter Zuliani). They got pieces, it’s gonna be a tough game, but we’re excited for the challenge.”