Weekend hoops: Hastings’ buzzer-beater propels SA

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Senior Will Hastings hit the game-winning shot to lift Southampton Academy to a 49-48 road win over Amelia Academy in boys basketball action Friday night.

The Raiders improved to 5-10 overall and 4-7 in the Virginia Commonwealth Conference.

SA struggled early and trailed 25-21 at halftime. The visitors continued to lead 43-37 after three quarters before the Raiders rallied, outscoring Amelia 12-5 in the final frame.

Sophomore William Doyle led the Raiders with 25 points, followed by Hastings with, Tyler Lass with 6, Robert Marks with 5, Andrew Edwards with 4 and Marshall Dunn with 1.

“Our guys have been playing hard, getting better all season, and tonight it all came together,&uot; said SA head coach Brian Trickler. &uot;We couldn’t afford to have any lapses on defense because of their big guys inside, and our defensive pressure won the game for us. William Doyle scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half, and Will Hastings made an unbelievable shot at the end, but we had so many guys make hustle plays through the course of the game. It was a total team effort. Amelia is a very good team, and to go to their place and get a win says a lot about our kids.”

The Raider junior-varsity team also won Friday night. The Raiders travel to Wakefield on Tuesday to play conference rival Tidewater Academy. The JV game is at 6 p.m., followed by varsity play at 7:30.

In other weekend hoops action:

* Isle of Wight Academy’s girls whipped Portsmouth Christian 75-49 to improve to 6-9 on the season.

* The IWA boys, 7-10, dropped a 49-46 decision to Portsmouth Christian despite Andy Webb’s 17 points.