Hampton spills Unaka for 68-56 county win

By C.Y. Peters
STAR CORRESPONDENT

   Coach Jerry White's Hampton Bulldogs came to Stoney Creek on Tuesday night looking for something he hadn't accomplished in a while at Unaka -- beating the Rangers.
   Well, that long-awaited victory finally came as the Bulldogs outplayed the Rangers for a 68-56 win.
   Unaka held a slim edge 20-17 at the end of the first as Aaron Dugger nailed a three in the closing seconds. White's Bulldogs played a tough defense in the second, not allowing the Rangers a single basket.
   Their only score would come from the foul line as they connected on 7 of 18 shots from the line.
   Ryan Deskins scored six points in the second to go with the six he tallied in the first and lead Hampton to a 36-27 halftime stop. Jeremy Hall ruled the boards in the first half as he added 13 for the 'Dogs in the first half.
   In the third Hampton pulled out to a 51-34 advantage on seven straight points by Kevin Harrison. Back-to-back three's by Ben Cole and Dugger cut the lead to 11.
   Chris Arnold scored and Dugger hit a jumper to cut the lead to 51-44 at the end of the third.
   When the fourth quarter started, the scoreboard read 51-46.
   Coach White was awarded a technical foul before the period started and Dugger sank both free throws. The Rangers had scored 12 unanswered points.
   The technical foul gave a spark to the Hampton team and the fans and the Dogs slowly started pulling away. Matt Campbell sank two, then Harrison scored. Campbell again, then just like the girls game, tragedy struck the Rangers.
   Cole fouled out and two minutes later Dugger fouled out.
   Dugger left the game with 30 points and Cole exited with 15 for the Rangers.
   The 'Dogs cruised on to win 68-56.
   Ryan Deskins scored 22, Harrison followed with 19 and Hall scored 17.
   Coach White stated: "We got on the board tonight and played Dugger well, but he's a good player. We almost let them back in the game."
   Rangers coach Donald Ensor remarked: "They whipped us in every fashion of the game. They executed better than we did. This is a hard place to come into and win -- my hats off to the Bulldogs." ack in HV's direction with a couple of fast break baskets. He was aided with the tough inside play of Brandon McCloud.
   Shankle led the Warriors with 12 points, while Loveless, Miller and Tony Carr all had eight points. Lunsford and Calhoun both scored six points to lead Cloudland.