HAMPSHIRE -- Hampshire had quite a few obstacles to overcome when it faced Genoa-Kingston on Thursday night in a Big Northern Conference crossover game.
Not only did the Whip-Purs have the task of slowing down the high-scoring Cogs, but they also learned on Tuesday night that point guard and leading scorer Justin Bieber would miss the game with an undisclosed injury.
Also, the Whips were hoping to get senior point guard Evan Brenner back for his first game of the season. Still, the Whips came out determined and -- aided by a huge first half -- never trailed in the contest en route to a 59-49 win.
"I'm so proud of this team," Hampshire coach Bob Barnett said. "We haven't played in 10 days, then we find out on Tuesday that both of my point guards are out. Now we have to figure out who can play here, where, who can't and then on Wednesday put in a game plan. And they came out and executed to perfection in the first half."
Senior James Goebbert led the charge early on for the Whips. Goebbert, who remembers vividly his team's loss in football to G-K in the first round of the playoffs less than two months ago, scored 13 first-half points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field.
After Hampshire (3-3) had jumped to a 9-0 lead to start the game, Goebbert knocked down a 3-pointer on the Whips' first possession of the second quarter to make it 18-11.
"We were thinking a little about that -- a little revenge," said Goebbert, who finished with 15 points. "We came out on fire, hustling and making things happen. Justin was out so we needed someone to score a little more. I just had to drive a little more and shoot a little more and it was working."
Mike Kozenczak usually does his damage in the paint, but the senior found his touch from outside as well, knocking down two first-half 3-pointers. Not to be outdone, junior Shyler Ralphs hit a fade-away jumper at the buzzer to give his team a 35-18 halftime lead.
Ralphs finished with a team-high 16 points. For the half, the Whips shot 56 percent (15 of 27) from the field, while the Cogs shot 37 percent (7 of 19).
"Everybody that came in today did a good job," Barnett said. "It's a total team effort and we needed it."
G-K (4-4) finally got its offense going in the second half. The Cogs got to within six points in the third quarter and five points in the fourth. Sharpshooter Scott Suchy was held scoreless in the first half before quickly scoring seven points in two minutes to get his team some momentum in the third quarter.
Senior Trevor Muench scored 10 of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter. However, Hampshire hit 7 of 12 free throws down the stretch to seal the win. G-K struggled from the line all night, connecting on only 5 of 16 for the night.
"I was proud of the effort in the second half but the first half wasn't good," said G-K coach Corey Jenkins. "We better figure out something soon about playing together as a team."
Hampshire 6-foot-6 freshman Tyler Watzlawick made his debut in the starting lineup for the Whips and grabbed nine rebounds to go along with six points.
Suchy and Ryan Muir each tallied 10 points for the Cogs.
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