No. 5 Franklin Regional boys top Hampton in low-scoring Section 3-5A game

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, January 18, 2019 | 10:15 PM

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Steve Scorpion has tweaked Franklin Regional’s defenses in recent days, adding a few new wrinkles that section opponents haven’t seen yet.

“We’ve been tinkering with some things,” said Scorpion, who deployed a new-look matchup zone in the second half Friday night, a strategic switch that helped No. 5-ranked Franklin Regional defeat host Hampton, 43-36, in a low-scoring Section 3-5A win.

Scorpion’s team used mostly man-to-man or a zone-trap defense before halftime, but decided to switch to the match-up scheme Hampton hadn’t seen them use. That unpredictability is important, Scorpion said, as teams start their run through the section for a second time.

“You can’t continue to be the same team as you were in the first half,” Scorpion said, “because we’re watching the same film that the other teams are. They’re going to see what we’ve done, just like we’re going to see what they’ve done.

“We’re not going to change completely our philosophy,” he added, “but we want to do some different things and add some different things just to catch some teams off guard. I thought, tonight, we did a pretty good job.”

Hampton, trailing by two points at halftime, made only 7 of 25 shots in the second half.

Nick Leopold and Aiden Wiley each scored 13 points for Franklin Regional (12-4, 7-1), which remains a game behind Mars in the section standings. Leopold converted 6 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter, including five in the final minute to clinch the win.

“Down the stretch, he’s clutch,” Scorpion said. “That’s why we go as he goes.”

Josh Winek led Hampton (8-6, 4-4) with 13 points and Ben Ringheisen added 10. Ringheisen, the team’s leading scorer, was slowed by a leg injury.

Hampton went 4 for 15 from the 3-point arc.

“This was by far our worst shooting night of the year,” Hampton coach Joe Lafko said, “but I give credit to Franklin Regional. They changed up some defenses and kept us off balance.”

Franklin Regional defeated Hampton, 60-49, when the teams met Dec. 14. This time, it was a race to 40.

Hampton had quarters of nine, six, 11 and 10 points. Franklin Regional matched them with quarters of nine, eight, 14 and 12. The teams combined for only 32 points in a low-scoring first half.

Franklin Regional led 17-15 at half.

“We like it like that,” Scorpion said with a laugh. “We don’t care how we get it done. Just win. We won 28-26 last year in a playoff game, so we don’t care about that. We’ve been way past that. As long as we win, that’s all I care about.”

The largest lead for either team was a 10-point edge for Franklin Regional midway through the third quarter. Boosted by their defensive switches, the Panthers led 30-20.

“I thought it slowed them down a little bit,” Scorpion said. “I thought we did a better job of matching up on their shooters.”

Hampton upped its pressure and rallied in the fourth, but the Talbots couldn’t erase Franklin’s lead completely. A 3-pointer by Hampton’s Luke Lindgren cut the deficit to 33-30 with 5:30 left.

Johnny O’Toole and Leopold answered with consecutive layups, pushing Franklin Regional’s lead back to seven.

“It’s always tough to win on the road,” Scorpion said. “… All of their games have been close, so we knew it would be a battle.”

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can reach Chris at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Hampton