style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Anthony (Barber), and he had to get better on trusting his teammates.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Everyone did their job, they're a very

courageous group and that's why we're where we are right now."

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>For the second game in a row against a heavyweight foe

from the Central Region, the Crabbers never trailed.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> After three straight nail-biters to start the

region playoffs, beating Bayside by a deuce, rallying from nine down in the

fourth quarter to defeat Nansemond River and edging King's Fork in overtime,

Hampton closed the postseason with three straight double-digit victories in the

State Tournament.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Coming in, much of the talk was about the

superstar guard battle between Petersburg's Frank Mason, a Towson commit and the Central Region Player of the

Year, and Hampton's Anthony 'Big Cat'

Barber, one of the nation's top juniors and the Eastern Region Player of

the Year.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Both players performed at a high level with more than

respectable stat-lines while battling foul trouble.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Each guard is going to be a unanimous pick

for All-State, and one will earn State Player of the Year honors, although you

can't go wrong with either.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Barber had 21 points for the Crabbers on 6-of-19

shooting from the field, 8-for-10 from the foul line, six rebounds and two

assists in 30 minutes of action. Only 10

times all year did he score less than 20 points, and in every game he played,

Big Cat reached in double-digits. In

nine playoff games, Barber averaged 21.1 points per game.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Mason, playing his final game for Petersburg, was

stellar as usual. Frank finished up with

28 points on 9-of-20 shooting from the field, 3-for-8 beyond the arc, was a

perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line, 11 rebounds and one assist in 31

minutes. This came two days after

exploding for 37 points, including his team's first 16 points in the opening

five minutes in a win over Kecoughtan in the State

Tournament semifinals.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>It was an electric atmosphere for this Championship

game and you want your stars to put forth an electrifying performance.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> These two didn't disappoint.

style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Hampton

came in with the mindset of letting Mason and Marcus Hoosier, a Virginia State commit and 6-foot-4 guard for

Petersburg, get their points, but contain everyone else.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> At the end of the night, those two had 42

points, whereas the rest of the Crimson Wave scored just nine points on 3-of-9

shooting.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>In fact, the combo of Mason and Hoosier had 20 of the

22 first half points for Petersburg as they trailed by five.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We're not going to come in with any tricks, no matter

how great a player is. We're going to

play man-to-man defense, that's what we're going to hang our hat on and that's

the way Coach Brower has always hung his program on.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> We knew Frank was great and Hoosier was

great, but if we locked down on the other guys and didn't let the other guys

pick and poke at you, then we can keep them under control," said Hampton

Associate Coach Eric Brown.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Hampton didn't do anything tricky, but what they did do

was switch different bodies on Mason and made him work for his points.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Using Jordan

Baker, Sammie Royal and

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Jeff Barnes on him, it kept from

getting comfortable to the point where he could take over and dominate the game

as a scorer like he has so often done throughout his career.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We wanted to change his looks up, and we knew if we

stayed too long with one guy, he would figure out how he wanted to play.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> We started with Jordan and we wanted to try

to use his length to keep him away from the basket, and hope he'd try to pull

up over top of Jordan. He made some

shots, got Jordan in foul trouble, and then we moved to Jeff.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Jeff's job was to stay up under him, and when

he gave the ball up to make him work just to get to the ball back," Brown

explained.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"But we knew if we stayed [with that] too long, they'd

go to the post and then we went with Sammie because he couldn't bully Sammie.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He plays well with his body and pushes off

and leans into you, but Sammie's not going to give ground, and I think that

gave him a little problems. We tried to

keep him out of rhythm, but a guy like that is going to manufacture points."

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>By the end of the night, Hampton's hard-nosed, gritty

defense made an impact. Mason scored

over his average with 28, though Petersburg's 51 as a team was a season-low.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Their previous season-low came back in

December when Atlantic Shores held them to 64.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"They had a great game-plan," admitted Petersburg first-year

Head Coach Rick Hite.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> "Those guys played hard, they were aggressive

and I give them credit."

style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

Supporting Cast Steps Up

Again:

style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Hampton's

role players stepped up and raised their level of play the entire postseason,

in particular the likes of Jordan Baker,

Sammie Royal and

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Jahmonte Jackson.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>With the game tied at 37 late in the third quarter, Baker

made one of the biggest shots as a member of the Crabbers with a three-point to

give Hampton a lead and quiet the Petersburg fans.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> It was similar to the three-pointer he made

to take the Crabbers from down one to up two late in the fourth quarter of the

regional quarterfinals vs. Nansemond River.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"That was a big momentum swing.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Their crowd was in it, their bench was in it

and all the players on the floor were in it, and that just deflated the whole

gym. Their crowd was all over the place,

we had a little small section, and after that it put their crowd on hush mode,"

said Baker, confident they would win the entire night.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I felt like we had it the whole game.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> We were playing well, and we were playing

great defense with Jeff, Sammie and me just alternating on Frank.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> He got a few bail-out fouls, but we did our

job on defense."

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Baker ended up with 13 points, and had another critical

three-point play sequence in the fourth quarter to push Hampton's lead to seven.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Royal was a force all postseason long.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> From sinking the game-winning free-throws

against Bayside, to yanking down double-digit rebounds against King's Fork and

Nansemond River, to scoring 10 points in the first quarter versus

class=SpellE>Osbourn and being the difference in the game with 19 points

and 14 boards in a win over Henrico, he managed to get the job done in such a

blue-collar fashion.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"His physicality really detoured

us from doing the things we like to do," Hite said of Royal.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Although he's only 6-foot-2, the undersized forward

used that nonstop motor to again make an impact with 10 points on four shot

attempts to go with seven boards.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Also not to be forgotten is Jackson, the younger brother

of former Hampton standout Geo LeSeur.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Jackson, who Brown dubbed as the MVP of the

State Tournament for the Crabbers, came on as a starter in the playoffs to

replace Cam Perry, a two-year

starter that started almost every game until he went down with an injury at the

end of the regular season.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Jackson scored 38 points in the State Tournament,

saving his best for last with 14 points, two huge three-pointers, 8-for-10

shooting from the foul line and six rebounds in the finale.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

mso-highlight:yellow'>Title Dedicated to Monstar:

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> The Crabbers were playing with heavy hearts

throughout the playoffs.

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Gary Smith, a former Hampton star who

went by the nickname of 'Monstar,' died last month.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'>

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>The Daily Press Player of the Year in 2003 when he

averaged 21 points per game, Smith passed away after his bought with Leukemia.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Hampton's coaches and players dedicated the Championship

and playoff run to Monstar.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

mso-highlight:yellow'>The Pain & Agony Continues:

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> The anguish continues for Petersburg and its

loyal fan base which came out in full force to support the Crimson Wave in

their effort to capture the program's first state title in basketball since

1974 and the days of Moses Malone.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>It had an 'I've seen this movie before,' type of feel

as Mason drilled an enormous three-pointer from way downtown to tie the score

at 35-apiece with 1:50 to go, sending the pro-Petersburg crowd at the Siegel

Center into a frenzy. Hampton closed the

period with five of the next seven points, and never let Petersburg to get

close enough to tie the score again.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I thought we might've settled for jump shots a little

too much," noted Hite. "We wanted to be

aggressive, but then we got into foul trouble, which kind of hindered that, and

they were able to withstand our little run in the second half.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> We were never really able to get over the

hump."

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>For the second time in three years, Petersburg has

fallen in the State Championship game.

The Crimson Wave's success is unparalleled with more wins than any other

AAA program in the state over the past six years with five appearances in the

State Playoffs, but they are ring-less in that stretch and have gone 0-4

against the Eastern Region Champion in the State Tournament since 2006.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Considering Petersburg overcame losing two players that

were ruled ineligible second semester and this team was not nearly as big or as

deep as some previous ones that got to the State Tournament, they accomplished

a lot to go 29-2 overall and win the Central Region.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I told them that the scoreboard doesn't define them,"

remarked Hite. "I'm proud of these guys,

love these guys and they have allowed me to Coach them and we've come a long

way. It's tough because you know how

badly they want it . . . my heart aches for them."

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

mso-highlight:yellow'>Key Stat:

No stat might've told the story more than the fact Petersburg finished

with only one steal the entire game against Hampton.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> For the night, Hampton turned it over just

five times.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Obviously Barber and Baker can handle it, I was more

concerned with them getting in the paint as opposed to getting out in passing

lanes against them," Hite said. "Sometimes

you don't get steals, but you can force teams to take bad shots.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I didn't think we did really either tonight."

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

mso-highlight:yellow'>Eastern Region Domination: Make it out of

Tidewater, and you have a great chance to win the state title.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> The Eastern Region is now home to 18 of the

last 28 AAA State Champions in basketball, including four in a row.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Hampton amazingly won the title without a single player

over 6-foot-3. Nobody intimidates the Crabbers,

however. They're a team full of gigantic

hearts that will take on all challenges, no matter how big or small.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We never have fear.

We don't care if we play the Lakers.

We have no fear, and that's just how the Hampton program is," said Barber.

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Everybody around the Peninsula, Richmond, wherever,

doubted us and said Hampton wasn't going to do this, Hampton wasn't doing to do

that, and we believed in each other.

Every game we kept our circle close, didn't worry about the fans and we

knew we were a State Championship team just like our coaches did.

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> They had faith in us, we had faith in each

other and we came this far."

"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Hampton's main ingredients are juniors, led by Barber,

Baker and Royal. That means with that

core expected to remain intact, the Crabbers will try to become the third

Eastern Region team in the last decade to repeat as State Champs, joining

Woodside from 2005-06 and Norcom from 2010-11.

style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>

115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Hear Postgame Audio with Hampton's

Eric Brown

style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>

115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Hear Full Hampton Postgame Press

Conference

style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

Final Stats:

style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Hampton

Crabbers 64:

style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> (27-5 overall)

Anthony 'Big Cat' Barber - - 21Pts. 6-19FG, 1-3 3's, 8-10FT, 6Reb. 2Ast. 1Stl

class=GramE>.

Jahmonte Jackson - - 14Pts. 6-8FG, 2-3 3's, 8-10FT,

6Reb. 2Ast.

Jordan Baker - - 13Pts. 4-7FG, 2-4 3's, 3-4FT, 4Reb. 1Ast. 3Stl

class=GramE>.

Sammie Royal - - 10Pts. 2-4FG, 6-9FT, 7Reb.

Tre Perry - - 4Pts. 1-7FG, 2-2FT, 8Reb. 2Ast. 2Blk

class=GramE>.

Crabbers - - 41.7FG%, 5-12 3's, 19-25FT, 28Reb. 7Ast. 5TO's,

3Blk. 6Stl.

style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Petersburg

Crimson Wave 51:

style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> (29-2 overall)

Frank Mason - - 28Pts. 9-20FG, 3-8 3's, 7-7FT, 11Reb. 1Ast.

Marcus Hoosier - - 14Pts. 2-15FG, 10-12FT, 6Reb. 1Ast.

Gevon Thomas-Arrington - - 3Pts. 1-2FG, 1-2FT, 6Reb.

(Fouled Out)

Wave - - 31.8FG%, 3-16 3's, 20-24FT, 35Reb. 3Ast. 10TO's,

1Blk. 1Stl.

style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>

115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";text-decoration:none;text-underline:

none'>Matthew Hatfield

style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>

serves as AAA State Basketball Analyst for

href="http://www.virginiapreps.com">

style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";

text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>VirginiaPreps.com

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>

115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>, part of the Rivals.com

Network. Check out

href="http://www.twitter.com/hatfieldsports">

text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>Hatfield's Twitter page

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>

115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'> for more sports related updates,

and you can also read his work in the

href="http://www.suffolknewsherald.com">

style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";

text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>Suffolk News Herald

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>

115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>.

To contact Matthew, please e-mail

href="mailto:hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com">

style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";

text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>

115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>, and don't forget to listen to him

on the VirginiaPreps.com Hour every Saturday at 11AM on

href="http://www.espnradio941.com/">

style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";

text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>ESPN Radio 94.1

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>

115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'> plus watch him on the

href="http://www.cox11.com">

style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";

text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>Cox 11 Sports Report

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>

115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>.

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