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Big shots lift Big Blue past Braves

Hamilton pulls away from Talawanda with fourth-quarter treys.

Hamilton sophomore Christian Jones hit one of two key 3-pointers for Big Blue in the fourth quarter of Friday night's 50-37 win over Talawanda. Talawanda's Tripp Webb is at right. Contributed photo by ROBERT LeiFHEIT

Robert Leifheit Hamilton sophomore Christian Jones hit one of two key 3-pointers for Big Blue in the fourth quarter of Friday night's 50-37 win over Talawanda. Talawanda's Tripp Webb is at right. Contributed photo by ROBERT LeiFHEIT

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Robert Leifheit

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By Bob Ratterman, Contributing WRiter 1:18 AM Saturday, December 31, 2011

HAMILTON — Back-to-back three-point baskets by a pair of sophomores in the fourth quarter gave the Hamilton High School boys basketball team some breathing room on its way to 50-37 win visiting Talawanda on Friday night.

Hamilton (2-5, 0-3 GMC) led 33-29 entering the fourth and the lead was still four points until 4:54 remained in the game. That’s when Big Blue sophomore Christian Jones nailed a 3-pointer to make it 38-31. On the Big Blue’s next possession, sophomore Quintin Bailey drained a 3 from the left side to stretch the lead to 41-31.

Talawanda got it down to eight with a basket from Davidson but it was all Hamilton the rest of the way.

“Early (in the game), we made bad decisions on passing and missed threes,” Hamilton coach Tim Robinson said. “Two sophomores stepped up at the end with big shots. Their threes got us going in the fourth quarter.”

Talawanda (2-5) was led in scoring by Wilhelm, who got a gift from the home team when his inbounds pass was stolen in the final seconds by a Hamilton player, who then shot the ball into the Talawanda basket. That figured into Wilhelm’s team-high 10 points because he was the nearest Braves player to the play and got credit for the basket.

He was the only Talawanda player in double figures, while Hamilton had two — Bailey with 11 and junior Keimon Sims with 10. Sims and senior Torrell Sutton tied for game-high rebounding honors with eight apiece. Sims also had five assists.

“There were a lot of important mental lapses,” THS coach Bobby Lipps said. “The kids play so hard. The kids are getting better and I wanted this for them so much. It’s tough to see them play so hard and come up short. They executed most of the stuff for three quarters, but not the fourth.”

Robinson said his team worked hard in practice since its 45-30 loss at Oak Hills on Dec. 20. Hamilton’s defensive pressure has been evident all season, but against Talawanda it was stifling.

“We worked on defensive pressure in practice during the long break,” Robinson said. “I tried to play different guys and press the team more. (Talawanda) did a good job of handling our pressure. It was a good win. It was good for the kids to get a win. We practiced well over the break but now we need to get ready for a very good Lakota West team.”

Hamilton hosts West on Tuesday, while THS hosts Norwood on Friday.

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