Hampton was unable to rally late on Monday night.
The Bulldogs came up short in the District 1-A Championship game as they dropped a 66-58 decision to University High at West Ridge High School.
Hampton is set to open the Region 1-A tournament on Saturday as they will host Coalfield.
Monday night was a game of runs from the onset.
Hampton had to battle back from an early deficit.
The Bucs opened the game on an 11-2 run before Hampton got things going when Cadon Buckles and Geno Carrico sparked a 7-3 run that was capped by a Hayden Campbell jumper. The teams traded shots to end the quarter as UH held a 16-11 lead after a quarter of play.
The Bulldogs answered the bell again in the second as Hampton scored 11 of the first 15 points in the quarter – including their first lead of the night with a Campbell bucket.
University High, however, answered with an 8-2 run to take a 28-24 lead into the locker room at the half.
Dylan Trivett and Buckles answered UH shots early in the third, but the Bucs reeled off a 14-2 run in the latter part of the frame to take a 12-point lead. Hampton’s Michael Anspaugh and Buckles, however, cut the lead back to single digits as the Bulldogs trailed 47-39 after three complete.
The Bulldogs continued to battle in the final stanza.
Campbell hit a turnaround jumper to pull the Bulldogs within six points to open the frame. However, the teams traded shots over the next four minutes as the Bucs maintained a 59-51 lead with 3:58 left to play.
Trivett pulled the Bulldogs within six points with two minutes to play, but that was as close as Hampton could get down the stretch.
Hampton was led by Buckles 24 points, while Campbell had 10 points. Trivett finished with eight points.
Anspaugh and Carrico had seven points apiece.
The Bulldogs were represented by Anspaugh, Buckles, and Campbell on the All-Tournament team.
Tournament MVP AJ Murphy led UH with 18 points, while Andrew Cole scored 13 points. Pete Boynewicz and Drew Finney had 12 and 11 points, respectively.
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