SHG boys take step toward first outright City Tournament title in half century
Will Hamilton's fast break layup started a good night for Sacred Heart-Griffin.
The state-ranked Cyclones boys basketball team beat Springfield High 58-32 on Thursday, the first night of the City Tournament at the Bank of Springfield Center.
Hamilton's scoring might've been complete with his six points in the first quarter, but his contributions on the floor were far from it, SHG coach Tim Allen said.
"He always guards the best guard on the other team and he does a heck of a job," Allen said. "Will's always been a lock-up defender. Will's a team-first guy.
"Whatever the team needs, he kind of tries to be the expert in what the team needs. I feel like if we were lacking a rebounder, he would become a rebounder."
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Will Hamilton is one minute older than brother Jake Hamilton, who scored 16 points on Thursday. The Hamilton twins combined for 11 of 13 first-quarter points for Class 3A No. 4-ranked SHG.
Will jokingly said there are advantages to being the older sibling.
"I tell him what to do," Will deadpanned.
Trying to win City
Will said it was important for the Cyclones to get out to a good start.
"Yeah, that felt good, especially coming on this floor and just to get out the jitters," he said. "And yeah, those couple buckets definitely helped our team to start the game."
He had the Cyclones' first two scores as SHG took a 4-0 lead. His brother then added a pair of field goals before Will hit two free throws with 2 minutes, 11 seconds left for a 10-4 lead.
SHG outshot Springfield High 46.7% (21 of 45) to 30.8% (12 of 39).
Thursday was an important hurdle, said Allen, in his fourth season as SHG's coach.
"They wanted the game," Allen said. "I've never won the first game (at City). When you lose the first game and feel like it's all over and come from behind and start picking it up from there."
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In 2020, SHG beat Lanphier in an overtime classic to claim a share of the City Tournament title. But the Cyclones are still looking for their first outright title since 1973.
"We've been waiting for this City," Will said. "Just finally get the outright championship at City would mean a lot."
Few answers for Senators
Springfield High was shorthanded six players off his roster and sophomore Carlos Day was only cleared hours before the start of the tournament.
SHS coach Joby Crum tried to scheme his way to keep the score close, but when the shots didn't fall, that doomed the Senators.
Crum was pleased with the team's effort.
"I know the score may not reflect it, but I was pretty proud of how that guys played," Crum said. "We didn't shoot the ball very well, but we outrebounded them. We only had 13 turnovers, we had the pace where we wanted it, we just couldn't score enough."
The Senators took care of the ball in the second half after committing 10 turnovers in the first half. But SHG still outscored SHS 15-7 in the third to put the win firmly in the Cyclones' column.
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Mitchell Logan led SHS with eight points. Brandenn Robinson, who finished tied with Logan with a team-best five rebounds, finished with seven points, along with Peyton Webster.
"There wasn't enough smoke and mirrors in the gym tonight to make it work," Crum said.
Contact Ryan Mahan: 857-246-9756, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: City Tournament: SHG basketball pulls out big win over Springfield High
