Falcons soar past 'Dogs

By Marvin Birchfield
STAR CORRESPONDENT
mbirchfield@starhq.com

   CHURCH HILL--The Hampton Bulldogs traveled to Volunteer on Friday night, and were devastated by an outstanding shooting display from the Falcons in a 91-54 rout.
   Volunteer turned up the defense pressure during the second period, which the Bulldogs were never able to overcome.
   "They shot the lights out of it, and we threw it away several times on the press along with them getting a few offense rebounds, and then they got happy," said Hampton coach Bud Hazelwood.
   The Falcons jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first quarter, when Chuckey Lindholm sank two free throws after drawing a foul from Michael McCall off the fast break.
   Lindholm finished with 24 points on the night with 11 assists and 10 rebounds, which produced him a triple-double for the game.
   Hampton was able to cut the lead to one, when they went on a 7-0 run, as Adam Miller knocked down a three and McCall scored off a defensive steal.
   The Falcons went on to outscore Hampton 16-6 for the remainder of the period, as Lindholm poured in 16 points giving Volunteer a 24-13 advantage.
   In the second quarter, the contest became a runaway, as the Falcons full-court pressure caused the Bulldogs to make several mistakes.
   Two three-point field goals to start the period from Andrew Nelms and Ben Southam swayed the momentum in the direction of Volunteer.
   "We got behind early and then tried to press them, but it's hard to press someone when they're a whole lot more athletic than you are," said Hazelwood.
   The Falcons captured the first 12 points of the quarter, and a three-point goal from Southam plus the foul built the Falcon lead to 45-19 with three minutes left in the half.
   Southam connected on another three right before the buzzer, as he had 23 points on the night with five three-point goals.
   Volunteer led 56-27 at the break, and they didn't slow down to start the third quarter by going on a 19-2 run.
   "We'd love to play like this all the time. It was one of our better offensive performances all year, and I felt like we clicked on all five cylinders tonight," said Volunteer coach Todd Whittemore.
   A basket from Shane Campbell was the only offense in the first six minutes, as Hampton trailed by as many as 47 at one point.
   A couple of threes from Zack Trivett and Josh Moss toward the end of the period was the only bright spot for the 'Dogs, but it was far too little too late.
   "Our defense and offense was there, and we played together like a team, and even though we shot the ball well from the three we got them from throwing it inside and good ball reversals," said Whittemore.
   Hampton trimmed the lead very little in the final period, as the Falcons played a near perfect game throughout.
   Lady Bulldogs 40
   Lady Falcons 53
   Volunteer ended the Lady Bulldogs three-game win streak, after Hampton fought back hard in the second half to come up short in a 53-40 final.
   The Bulldogs trailed by as many as 23 points in the third period, but the defensive pressure from Hampton cut the lead to single digits halfway through the fourth quarter.
   "Hampton is a lot like us. They have a lot of young people, and sometimes young people get shocked right from the start," said Lady Volunteer coach Dennis Anderson.
   It was a 16-12 lead for the Falcons by the end of the first quarter, when Leah Johnson scored 10 of her 19 points on the night.
   Jessie Price dumped in six scores for Hampton in the opening period, along with a three-pointer coming from Joy Gardner.
   Things did not go well for Hampton in the second period, as they captured just two-points off a basket from Jessica Tolley.
   The Bulldogs trailed 28-14 at halftime, and a slow start in the third quarter dug themselves a hole, which they were never able to recover from.
   The Falcons outscored Hampton 13-4 to start the period, and a late rally from the 'Dogs trimmed the lead back to 18 heading into the final quarter.
   Hampton cut the lead to 10 with under five minutes left, when their full-court pressure resulted in some steals and turnovers by the Falcons.
   "I knew Hampton would come back in the second half. I told my kids they would, but I just didn't think it would be that easy," said Anderson.
   The Bulldogs received a big blow with three minutes left when Gardner was charged with her fifth personal foul.
   Volunteer was able to hit the key free throws down the stretch to hand Hampton its first loss in the past four games.
   "We got shocked a little down the stretch, but we hit enough free throws to win it, and we've had trouble all season doing that," said Anderson.