Hampton hits buzzer-beater to drop Knoch, stand alone atop section

By: Bob Orkwis
Friday, January 12, 2024 | 10:09 PM

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Knoch and Hampton came into Friday night’s contest with identical records, with both the Knights and the Talbots carrying unblemished 3-0 records in Section 1-4A.

An intense and much-anticipated game went down to the wire, as senior Liam Mignogna took an inbounds pass with 3.5 seconds left and buried a hook shot at the buzzer to give Hampton the 51-49 win.

“That was exciting,” said Hampton coach Joe Lafko. “Two good teams battling right down to the end, a lot of momentum shifts, I’m just glad our guys stayed with it.”

Lafko said Hampton practiced during the week anticipating the great atmosphere.

“We practiced for the noise with a speaker in here this week,” he said. “Tonight gave the kids a great environment to play basketball.”

The game featured nine lead changes and five ties and was knotted at 46-46 with 4:20 remaining. That’s when Hampton played a more deliberate style of offense, which they had done a few times in the game.

Peter Kramer, who has committed to Lehigh, led all scorers with 29 points, including four 3-pointers. That marked the ninth time he has scored 20 or more points in a game. The 6-foot-5 guard is one of five senior starters for the Talbots.

Lafko had high praise for his leading scorer.

“He’s just a pleasure to coach,” he said. “He’s the last guy to leave the gym. He’s a gamer, and you saw it again tonight. Big players play big in big games.”

Knoch, which starts four sophomores and a junior, was paced by Jackson Bauman’s 16 points. The sophomore guard was held scoreless in the fourth quarter, however.

Kaden Spencer, the junior, added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Knights. Sophomore Teegan Finucan also had 10 points for Knoch.

Alex Nyilas chipped in with 12 points for the Talbots, including three 3-pointers. He also grabbed the rebound of a missed Kramer 3 that set up the winning play.

In addition to his game winner, the 6-9 forward Mignogna scored six points, all in the second half, pulled down five rebounds and added three blocked shots.

“Liam is a guy we count on for offense and defense,” Lafko said. “He’s had a great season so far. I just kept encouraging him to keep going strong, and in the fourth quarter, he made some really big plays for us.”

Kramer was the first option for the Talbots for the game-winning play, but Lafko said Mignogna was the next option.

“It’s called a slip cut. When Robert (Coll) was jumped out on, I was yelling, ‘Throw it, throw it, throw it,’ because they slipped with a smaller man guarding Liam,” he said.

Hampton (11-2, 4-0) is ranked No. 4 in Class 4A. The Talbots play Tuesday at Greensburg Salem, but Lafko did not overlook two big future road contests for Hampton.

“We like where we are at, but there’s a lot of basketball to play,” he said. “We still have two tough road games at Knoch and at Highlands. They’re going to be tough on the road. But we’ll take it.”

Knoch (10-3, 3-1) is back home Tuesday to face Highlands in a battle for second place in the section.

The rematch between Hampton and Knoch is set for Feb. 6 in Saxonburg.

Tags: Hampton, Knoch