After a 3-week hiatus during the Holiday Break due to COVID-19, Hampton Boys Basketball is back in action. Although they officially started in November, the basketball team has had summer workouts and moved on to open gyms 3 days a week starting back in September.

Hampton basketball had their first official game on December 11, one day after Gov. Tom Wolf shut down school sports for 3 weeks. In that game, Hampton went up against Fox Chapel and lost in a close game 44-57. During the 3 week hiatus, Hampton basketball did zoom calls a few times per week to do workouts and other team meetings. Back in early January, Hampton was preparing for two games against Chartiers Valley on January 8 and then Knoch on January 9. Once again, HHS went remote from January 8 through January 11, and school sports were also put on pause. Hampton was finally back in action on January 12, when they hosted Shaler, losing 58-68.

Hampton basketball was able to play the remainder of its schedule without major interruption. They have won at Indiana but lost against 8 different teams to now sit at 1-8. Although it was far from the start Hampton basketball was looking for, they had to battle through many COVID-related issues in addition to injuries. Moving forward, the keys to success for Hampton will be to keep games close or take the lead from the start and get the victory when the clock hits 0:00. Those keys almost came to fruition when Hampton almost defeated Highlands, losing 55-56. Highlands is currently one of the top teams in the section and Hampton battled without some key players that game. The close game was also in part to Zander Plizga scoring a game-leading 19 points in his first varsity start for Hampton basketball and Matt Moser almost getting a double-double with 10 points and 8 rebounds.

As the season is closing in on a half-way point, the WPIAL adopted an ‘open tournament’ where are schools can choose to participate in contrast to having to qualify. As long as Hampton can build momentum and reach its peak late in the season, they will have an opportunity to make a run in the playoffs.

Hampton Basketball Schedule Next 2 Weeks:

2/2: vs. Armstrong

2/5: at Shaler

2/6: at North Allegheny

2/9: vs. Indiana

2/12: at Mars

2/13: vs. Knoch