KEYSER, W.Va. — Keyser has relied on its defense all season, and Thursday’s game was no exception.
In the Class AAA, Region II semifinal, the Golden Tornado (13-10) took the momentum early in the fourth quarter on the defensive end, and it led to a 52-41 win over Hampshire.
“Pleased with our effort, pleased with our defensive effort in total,” Keyser head coach Scott Furey said. “We knew the 1-3-1 (defense) gave them fits over there.”
Leading 35-31 after three quarters, Keyser opened the fourth with two key defensive plays.
Grayson Lambka was responsible for both, swiping a pair of steals that led to layups on the other end.
“I think that really changed the tempo of the whole game,” Furey said. “Kudos to him for being the senior leader he is. We’ve been saying it all year, he’s special. He plays harder than three people sometimes and wills us to wins.”
Lambka finished with 14 points, four steals, three assists and a block.
He took the second steal all the way for an and-one score to stretch the Tornado’s lead to 40-31 with 7:16 to play.
Keyser went up by 12 points with 6:02 to play on a Lane Champion layup and never looked back.
“It’s the end of the season, it’s a sad time,” Hampshire head coach Danny Alkire said. “Whenever you lose kids on your team and you’ve been with them for four years, you become family. It’s unfortunate, the hardest part’s it’s not been a season they’ve experienced or I’ve experienced. So it feels like I’ve failed them, and that’s the hardest part.”
The Tornado led by as many as 19 with 2:35 left on a Champion layup.
He finished with 14 points, three steals and two assists.
Leading 26-20 at halftime, Keyser took a 32-22 lead with 2:56 left in the third quarter on a Monk Garland jumper.
The Trojans (1-22) answered with a 9-3 run to end the quarter down four.
“That little bit of pressure, full-court pressure disrupting them, got us some more opportunities,” Alkire said of what changed. “Not giving them a chance to set up in that zone. You can always get a rebound, a steal and go, they don’t get a chance to set up that zone.”
The game opened with five lead changes in the first quarter with neither side up by more than four.
Keyser took a 14-13 lead after one, shooting 5 of 8 (63%) from the floor against Hampshire’s 6 of 11 (55%).
Braylon McGreevy scored eight of his 13 points in the first half, adding two assists, a steal and a block for the Tornado.
Leading 16-15 early in the second quarter, Keyser went on a 10-2 run to stretch its lead to 26-17.
“We know that our length a lot of times gives people problems,” Furey said. “The 1-3-1 forced them to throw it back-and-forth and not really focus on getting set up in their offense. Really became a problem for them.”
A triple from Matt Medina cut the Trojans’ halftime deficit to 26-20 after each team only made three shots in the second quarter.
“Same as last game, we were beating them at half and they came out in that 1-3-1,” Alkire said. “I knew they were gonna do it, I told them, we prepared for it. But their length, coach Furey’s got them playing well. I can’t say it’s what we were doing as what they were doing.”
Medina and Chase Brill tied for a team-high nine points with Medina adding three assists and a steal.
Hampshire’s season came to an end, along with the high school careers of Medina, Landon Eversole, Andrew Loy and Blane Billmeyer.
“I commend them for being 1-21, and we didn’t win that one game until the very end,” Alkire said. “For them to stay with us and believe in the team and have an uplifting locker room, I can’t ask for more as a coach. They could’ve quit at any time, and they’ve never done that to me, to their teammates, to themselves.”
Loy scored eight points with two assists and a steal.
The Golden Tornado advance to the Region II co-final at Robert C. Byrd on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
The Eagles (14-7) won the regular-season matchup, 50-47, in Keyser on Jan. 2.
Keyser could clinch its 15th appearance in the state tournament and first since 2011 with a win.
“I was fortunate enough to go down there as an assistant coach with coach (Gary) Liston three times,” Furey said. “I keep telling the kids, it’s an experience you just have to have. I want that for them, I want them to be able to go do that.”