KEYSER, W.Va. — Leading by six points heading to the fourth quarter, Keyser’s defense prevented any chance of a Hampshire rally.
The Golden Tornado (2-2) held the Trojans (0-6) to five points in the fourth while scoring 11, holding on for a 47-35 win on Tuesday.
“I told the kids, you can’t look at anybody’s record and assume anything,” Keyser head coach Scott Furey said. “Especially when (Hampshire head coach Danny Alkire’s) involved. He’s in the same mindset that I am, we front load the schedule. If we’re gonna go down to Charleston, you’re gonna have to go through the gamut and really test yourself.”
Leading 36-30 entering the fourth, Keyser only had two players score in the frame.
“I thought we played well today at times,” Alkire said. “There’s also some times where we broke down, but that’s what we’ve been doing all season. We’re putting more of a game together, we’re 0-6 right now, we’ve been getting better progressively as the season’s gone which is a good sign.”
Grayson Lambka scored eight of his 12 points, including an and-one put back off his own miss, that stretched the Tornado lead to 42-33 with five minutes left.
Lambka scored 12 points with a steal.
“In a game like this, you need all the Grayson’s you can get,” Furey said. “He’s a football guy, but for his whole life he’s played 1000%. Knowing you’re gonna get two crucial box out offensive rebounds and put backs and getting to the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to extend the lead.”
Keyser led 25-16 at halftime and opened the second half on an 8-2 run to extend the margin to 33-18 with 4:06 left.
Hampshire answered with a 12-1 run led by seven points from Matt Medina.
Medina recorded a steal and split a pair at the line to cut the Trojan deficit to 34-30.
“We started hitting shots, we had four 3-pointers or something in there, had a little pressure in there,” Alkire said. “So that was a bright spot, it was a bright spot early on. Lost a little bit then dropped down 15, came back which was good.”
Medina led Hampshire with 12 points and a steal.
Lane Champion hit a pair of free throws to put the Tornado ahead 36-30 after three.
The first half was a defensive slugfest on both sides.
Keyser led 12-7 after the first quarter that featured seven combined made field goals.
“If you talked to my kids, it’s never expected because we just miss so many shots at the rim,” Furey said. “I said on the bench, it’s exhausting to watch us shoot layups. I know we’re in traffic and there’s contact, but still, we’re right there.”
Hampshire got within a point midway through the second quarter at 14-13 on a Chase Brill 3-pointer.
The Tornado answered with an 11-3 run including a buzzer-beater long ball from Champion to stretch its lead to 25-16.
In the first half, Keyser shot 8 of 22 (36%) from the field while Hampshire went 6 for 20 (30%).
“I would say rushed a little bit, not necessarily bad shots,” Alkire said. “I’m sure there were some bad shots in there, but overall it was just their length causing problems.”
Keyser’s Braylon McGreevy led both teams with 17 points and he also had a steal.
Both teams return to action on Tuesday.
The Golden Tornado head to Bridgeport, West Virginia, for the Chris Johnson Christmas Classic where they will face Lewis County at 5 p.m. and Bridgeport on Wednesday at 2 p.m.
“Our schedule is pretty brutal all year long,” Furey said. “The area’s tough anyways. We’re going to Bridgeport for a two-day tournament next week, this is the first of four straight regional games for us. It’s murderers row, so for us to scratch this one out, I’ll take that.”
The Trojans host No. 2 Mountain Ridge (2-1) at 7:30 p.m.
“Tonight, there’s only one player on that court that had varsity experience last year, and that was Matt (Medina),” Alkire said. “Even when Andrew (Loy) comes back, we’ll only have two. We’re young, we have a sophomore that keeps playing up. So that inexperience this year is what we’re gonna learn on as the season grows.”
Loy was in Hawaii for the Tiki Bowl, an All-Star football game featuring players from across the country.