15 November, 2006
by Ryan Minihane
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1st |
2nd |
Final |
| Hampton (1-2) |
24 |
23 |
47 |
| Holy Cross (2-0) |
30 |
32 |
62 |
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The Holy Cross Crusaders led throughout the entire game, en route to a 62-47 victory over Hampton. Hampton kept to its reputation that they have earned so far this season by gunning three pointers from the opening tip, but with moderate success. In the first half they shot 5-of-13 from distance, 3 of those makes coming from Junior Pehoua. The story of the first half was the consistent play of Keith Simmons, who shot 5-of-7 from the floor, scoring 13 in the first half.
Torey Thomas, the other star of the Crusaders, struggled in the first half, shooting 1-for-5 from the floor and committing 3 turnovers. The Crusaders shot a combined 50.0 percent in while Hampton was held to 29.6 percent from the floor.
Starting off the second half Hampton went on an 8-0 run to steal the lead from Holy Cross. It took the Crusaders nearly five minutes to score their first points of the second half. The 8-0 run was partly because of the 3 quick turnovers, 2 by Thomas. Holy Cross settled down to take control, getting 8 second-half points from Thomas. Hampton continued to launch three pointers to try to get back in the game but was unable to convert on the majority of them.
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| Keys to the Game |
| Key sequence |
With 9:01 to go in the second half, Simmons stole the ball at half court and was able to convert a fast break lay-up with a foul. After a John Nkoto turnover, Tim Clifford was fouled and converted both free throws. From that point on Holy Cross controlled the game.
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| Key sign it was over |
With 3:48 seconds left in the game after a Hampton turnover, Hampton coach Kevin Nickelberry (a former Holy Cross assistant) was charged with a technical foul after arguing the call to the referee. Simmons went on to make 1 of 2 of the technical free throws, which gave Holy Cross a 54-44 lead. Hampton was able to get a quick basket in the paint. Colin Cunningham then threw a baseball pass down the court to a wide-open Keith Simmons who went to score on a lay-up and was fouled in the process. Simmons went on to make the free-throw which made the lead 57-46. After this play all momentum was taken away from Hampton.
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| Key performance |
Cunningham played only 5 minutes in the first half. In the second half he played 13 minutes, scoring 5 points with 4 rebounds and 2 assists. His strong play and hustle gave Holy Cross the spark they needed to close out the game.
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| Key statistic |
Hampton shot 7-of-23 from the three-point line. After making 5 in the first half, Hampton went on to shoot 2-of-12 from three-point land in the second half.
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| Notes |
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Torey Tomas went 6-of-14 from the free-throw line. The Crusaders as a team only converted 60.0 percent of free throw attempts.
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Hampton’s freshman sensation Theo Smalling was held to 0 points on the night and only took one field goal.
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Points in the paint: Holy Cross: 24; Hampton: 12. |
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Points off turnovers: Holy Cross: 23; Hampton: 6.
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Hampton never held more than a two-point lead over Holy Cross the entire game.
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