Hampton came into this one with an overall record of 8-7 (4-5 in conference) and needing a win to keep their hopes alive of making a 22nd straight playoff appearance. After trailing the entire first half, the Talbots put together a dominant 3rd quarter that propelled them to a 54-48 victory.
Both teams struggled to score early with neither team getting on the board in the first three minutes, but Indiana stat junior, Aaron Webb, changed that with a corner three off the baseline out of bounds play to get things going in this one.
Indiana Point Guard, Will Olsen, followed that up with a steal and score to put Indiana up 5-0 midway through the first.
Hampton scored their first points of the contest by hitting a three from the top of the key, but Aaron Webb answered with a step back three of his own for Indiana.
Gavin Guinn got the and-1 to go shortly after checking in for Hampton, but Indiana responded with another three ball off of the no-look feed from Olsen. Aaron Webb found his twin brother, Darius, underneath for two to give Indiana a 13-5 lead late in the first.
Hampton would score the next 4 points, but Aaron Webb would answer with 4 more of his own, including a steal and breakaway dunk to end the quarter, giving him 10 points in the game and putting Indiana up 17-9 after one.
Webb stayed aggressive, scoring 2 more to start the second quarter. Hampton senior, Jonas Cupps, connected on a transition three from the right wing to cut the lead to 7 and make the score 19-12 in favor of Indiana.
Zack Danner converted the and-1 for Hampton, but Darius Webb found an opening down low and scored again for Indiana off of another nice pass from Olsen. Cupps answered with a three from the right wing again for Hampton.
Aaron Webb continued his monster first half by finding Darius again for the bucket and rising up to sink a long two shortly after. Hampton would score the next 4 on baskets from Gavin Guinn and Zack Danner, but Aaron Webb drained a catch and shoot three in the final seconds of the half to put Indiana up 30-23 at the break.
Aaron led all scorers with 17 first half points, showing why he’s one of the biggest prospects in the WPIAL. The newly minted 3-star recruit has received a number of D1 offers, most recently from Virginia Tech, and has gained interest from top-ranked programs such as Louisville.
Hampton came out firing in the third quarter by lacing a triple and converting on another and-1 from Danner to make it a one possession game. The Talbots continued to turn up the pressure throughout the third quarter and midway through the period managed to take a 33-31 lead.
Hampton’s defense throttled the Indiana offense the entire quarter and made it very difficult for them to get anything going offensively. The Talbots drained another three and Danner scored 2 more to give Hampton their largest lead of the game. They led 40-34 heading into the final frame and had outscored Indiana 17-4 in that third quarter.
Hampton Head Coach, Joe Cangilla, spoke about the halftime adjustments that led to such a successful third quarter saying, “We had some assistant coaches and players speak up at halftime, which you sometimes need. It was a matter of effort for a number of things”. He elaborated further saying, “They were getting too many seconds (second chances). So I was proud of my captains for speaking up and then stepping up on the court”.
Indiana fought back to start the fourth with Darius Webb collecting his own miss and getting the putback to go early in the quarter. Aaron Webb found Olsen for two more to pull within two, but Hampton would answer with a bucket on the other end.
Olsen got the tough finish to go on the drive down the right side of the lane to make it 42-40 in favor of Hampton with 5:15 to go in the game. Guinn responded with a three for the Talbots to push the lead back to 5, but Aaron Webb was able to get to the line and sink two free throws to get it back to a one score game with about four minutes left to play.
Neither team scored the next 90 seconds until Webb got the steal and the and-1 to go for Indiana, and after making the free throw, it was all tied up at 45 a piece with 2:30 left. Guinn drained another timely triple for Hampton, but Webb answered right back on the drive to make it 48-47 Hampton with just over a minute and a half to go.
Indiana came out in a full court press, but Hampton broke it easily and scored a wide-open layup at the other end to get the lead back to three. Aaron Webb found himself back at the line and made one of two to make it 50-48 late in the game.
Guinn and Danner each went one for two in their trips to the line as Indiana came up empty on the other end, making it a two-possession game with just 19 seconds. Hampton broke the press once more and got another easy layup in the final seconds to secure a 54-48 victory.
Gavin Guinn led the way for Hampton tonight with 22 points, including several big-time shots in clutch moments down the stretch. Coach Congilla spoke to his performance tonight saying, “He’s our vocal captain. He’s our most fearless competitor out there”. He went on to say, “Gavin did not start tonight. We went with matchups, but he played his butt off and hit a couple really big shots to put us in a good position at the end”.
Zack Danner was also a big part of Hampton’s victory tonight, finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Aaron Webb was the high-point man for Indiana, scoring a game-high 27 in the loss. Hampton Moves to 9-7 overall and 5-5 in conference with the win. Indiana falls to 10-7 overall and 4-5 in conference with the loss.