Rogers wins subregional championship
After seizing the moment, Melik Hampton wasn’t about to let it go.
As the purple wave of fans engulfed him Friday night, the Rogers center clutched the 3A subregional plaque for the prize it was.
“We worked so hard for this, and we’re not done yet,” said Hampton, who did most of the heavy lifting in the Pirates’ 69-59 win over Kennewick in a packed Rogers gym.
Playing the entire game, and against taller opposition, Hampton scored 29 points and pulled down 16 rebounds to lead the Pirates to one of the biggest wins in school history, a victory that puts them in the regional round of the state tournament and a win away from advancing to the Hardwood Classic.
The Pirates will play in the round of 16 at a neutral site in Spokane, with the day and opponent to be announced on Sunday.
None of that mattered Friday night, as the nets came down for the second straight week following a tense, fast-paced game that was in doubt until the final minutes.
With the Pirates leading by 10 with just under 3 minutes to play, Rogers guard K.J. Hassett could have played it safe and brought down the pace of the halfcourt offense. Instead he brought down the house with a risky alley-oop pass that Hampton tapped home for a game-clinching 64-52 lead.
“We’re always looking for those,” said Hassett, who finished with 17 points. “I told him right after the timeout that I’d hit him.”
Until then, Rogers (15-7) struggled to put away a Kennewick team that twice overcame double-digit deficits to get back in the game.
The pace was fast throughout the first half, which ended with Rogers ahead 34-26. The Pirates made a living on the fast break, with Hampton on the receiving end of some deft passes. His steal and layup gave Rogers a 17-8 lead, but the Lions cut the gap to 17-12 after one quarter.
After hitting just one of four 3-pointers in the first quarter, the Pirates’ long-range shooting came alive in the second, while the 6-foot-4 Hampton outdueled 6-7 Kennewick post Jacob Vargas.
“We knew were were going to have to work it inside against their big guys,” Rogers coach Joel Soter said. “But even though Melik is only 6-4, he plays a lot taller than that.”
The evidence was there in Hampton’s five blocks, including a giant eraser midway through the third quarter that not only kept the Lions (16-6) from closing to within two points, it sparked another Pirates rally.
Asante Fields hit a reverse layup, before Isaiah Wynecoop opened the fourth quarter by drilling a 3-pointer to give Rogers a 52-41 lead.
The lead stretched to 58-41 with under 7 minutes left, but Kennewick twice got back within single digits before Hassett hit Hampton with the game-clinching alley-oop.
When it was over, Soter took in the scene and marveled.
“To have this many people, it doesn’t get any better than this,” he said.
Then again, it might.
3A girls subregional
Kamiakin 48, Shadle Park 40: Tabitha Wellsandt scored 15 points and Lindsey Schauble added 14 as the Braves claimed the top seed to the regional round of the state tournament with a win over the host Highlanders (6-16).
Shadle Park will host Mt. Spokane tonight at 6 with the second and final seed up for grabs. Kamiakin made 17 of 22 free throws while the Highlanders were 6 of 7 from the line. Shadle Park’s Shyla Carr scored 16 points.
Mt. Spokane 52, Southridge 38: Jaidyn Lyman scored 16 points and Jordan Smith added 15 as the Wildcats (9-14) used a 22-5 third-quarter run and beat the visiting Suns. Ari Newcomb added eight points and 15 rebounds for Mt. Spokane. Shyler Sullivan tallied a team-high 13 points for Southridge.