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Campbell tops Hubbard with game on the line
By Pete Mollica
HUBBARD
Campbell High boys basketball coach Brian Danilov says at times his team looks more like a volleyball team than a basketball team.
For three quarters the Red Devils (3-1) threw the ball over and around the hoop without a lot of success, but then in overtime Campbell connected on 11 free throws and pulled away for a 67-56 victory over Hubbard here Friday night.
The Red Devils didn’t have a great shooting night from the field, hitting on just 17 of 59 attempts, including a whole lot of missed layups, but they made up for it at the free throw line connecting on 28 of 41 foul shots to overcome the Eagles (3-1).
“I don’t know what it is, but we just can’t seem to make a layup,” said Danilov. “We are right there, but the ball just doesn’t go down. But we did make the free throws tonight, especially in overtime and that pleased me a great deal.
“We knew it was going to be a battle tonight,” he added. “Foxy [Hubbard head coach Rick Fox] does a great job here and we knew that Lopuchovsky [Mike] was going to be a real load inside for them.”
Hubbard also didn’t have a great shooting night, but the Eagles also were off at the foul line where they made just 16 of 30 attempts.
“It’s something that has hampered us this season; we just haven’t shot the ball well from line,” said Fox. “Then tonight in the fourth quarter we got into serious foul trouble and that really hurt.
“We lost Hoppy [senior Kory Hopkinson) with over four minutes to play and he’s our leader on the floor and our best assist player,” Fox added. “But Campbell made the shots when they needed them. We still have 16 more games to play and we’re going to get better.”
The Red Devils held the lead throughout most of the first half. They held a 20-15 margin with 4:05 remaining in the second quarter, before the Eagles made a move.
Hubbard went on a 13-0 run in those final minutes and a 3-point basket by Campbell’s Lester Hughes at the buzzer left the Eagles with a 28-23 advantage.
Hubbard would lead the rest of regulation play, but never by more than six points. Campbell’s Ty Underwood sank a pair of free throws with 40 seconds left in regulation to deadlock the contest 49-49.
Anthony Naze opened the overtime period with a 3-point shot and Campbell quickly jumped to a 53-49 lead. After Devin Johnson completed a three-point play with 2:37 remaining the Red Devils never scored another basket, but hit nine of 10 free throws down the stretch to easily pull away for the win.
Campbell was again led by junior Dwaylon Letlo, who scored 19 points, pulled down 17 rebounds and also had four blocked shots and three steals on the night. He was joined in double figures by four other teammates including Hughes and Claxton LeBron with 12 each and Naze and Ty Underwood with 10 each.
Lopuchovsky paced the Eagles with 17 while Tyler Duez added 11 and Korey Groscost had 10.
The Eagles also lost Groscost and Nick Shelton on fouls in the overtime period.