HAMLET — Having not played since before the holiday break, the Hamlet Middle School boys’ basketball team showed a little rust early during Monday’s game against Spring Hill Middle School.
But the Red Rams would overcome the slow start on defense and use a strong offense led by JV Drake, Tristan Wall and David McNair to defeat the Spartans 42-30 in their home opener.
Behind “running the system,” head coach Keith Parson’s team would force 36 turonvers and collect 26 steals.
Drake was the game’s leading scorer with 17 points and finished with a double-double with 10 steals, also a team-high, helping the Red Rams off to a 3-0 start.
Joining the scoring threat was Wall, who also reached double figures with 10 points, and McNair tallied eight points, with five coming in the fourth quarter. On defense, Lareese Swinnie swiped six steals, second only to Drake.
“Spring Hill took it to us early and we struggled a bit,” Parsons said. “I am happy with how we bounced back and played better as the game went on, more to our style.”
The head coach noted Hamlet lost starter Jashton Harrington to an injury in the first couple of minutes in the game, and said “we certainly missed him.” But he added that “Lareese stepped up and played great in that role.”
Spring Hill jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter, but Wall would hit a three-pointer at the 5:30 mark to make it a one possession game. He later added a drive and converted on an and-one opportunity to give Hamlet a one-point lead.
Drake led the team with seven points in the first quarter, first driving for a layup and adding two shots from the charity stripe. Just before the end of the period, he splashed a triple in from the left wing to give the Red Rams a 13-7 lead.
Hamlet added to its lead with 10 more points in the second, using another Drake three-pointer and a layup. Wall opened the scoring with a baseline jumper, while McNair banged home a three-pointer in the closing 90 seconds to put Hamlet up 23-17 at halftime.
The Red Rams managed to score just eight points in the third, three points each from Drake and Jay Hamilton (three-pointer), while Zach Gardner chipped in his two points in the game. Spring Hill struggled to score, adding just four points on a bucket and two free throws.
Entering the fourth leading 31-21, Hamlet allowed a 6-2 run by the Spratans to make it a 33-27 game. Drake opened the lead again when he made a swift layup on an inbound pass, and McNair answered with a big-time three-pointer from the left corner with 1:20 remaining.
To close out the final 35 seconds, Jamerson Walton used his height under the basket to push in his only two points, and McNair added put-back basket to secure the win.
“We plan to get back at it in practice and get a little better every day,” Parsons closed.
Hamlet will travel to West Hoke Middle School on Thursday to play the Tigers in another conference matchup. The game is expected to begin around 5:30 p.m.
