Peter Kramer hits winner as Hampton holds off Highlands in OT

By: Jerin Steele
Friday, January 26, 2024 | 10:04 PM

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Highlands gave Hampton its best shot, but it was Peter Kramer who landed the final blow.

Kramer drove the lane and hit a bucket with 4 seconds remaining in overtime to propel the Talbots to a 61-59 victory Friday night at Highlands.

After Cam Reigard hit a tough runner in the lane to tie it, Hampton got the ball down quickly to Kramer, who scored off the window.

“I knew there was only a few seconds left on the clock, so I just went in there and made a play,” said Kramer, a Lehigh commit. “We work on that in practice every day. I just took it to the rack and made a tough layup.”

Bradyn Foster got a shot off from halfcourt as time expired, but it hit the rim and bounced out, ending a frantic final quarter-plus.

With the win, Hampton (14-3, 6-0) inched closer to a Section 1-4A title. The Talbots have a two-game lead with Knoch’s loss to Freeport on Friday. The Knoch loss also keeps Highlands (10-6, 3-3) in the race for second place.

Highlands trailed by 14 points going into the fourth quarter, but led by senior guards Jordyn Tavarez and Cam Reigard, staged a furious rally. Tavarez started a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer and followed it with a layup.

Reigard hit a trio of 3-pointers in the fourth, including one that tied the score with less than 30 seconds remaining, ultimately sending the game to overtime.

“I thought they made things really hard on us for three and a half quarters, but then I felt like we broke out,” Highlands coach Corey Dotchin said. “I know it is tough that it happened as late as it did, but I’m proud of our guys’ effort. I told them as coaches those are the types of losses you can kind of stomach, because guys never quit. They made a ton of plays to get back in it.”

Hampton jumped out to the lead in overtime, but again the Golden Rams rallied. Foster sank a three to cut the lead to 59-57. After a Hampton turnover on the ensuing inbounds play, Reigard connected on a runner to tie it before Kramer’s game-winner.

“They had a lot of momentum, and it is a challenge to stop that,” Hampton coach Joe Lafko said. “I think it says a lot about the character of a team to deal with that kind of momentum shift and still come out with a victory. I think we did that with rebounding and defensive stops when we needed them and then in overtime hitting our free throws.”

Hampton went 6 for 8 from the free-throw line in overtime.

Kramer had a game-high 29 points, including five of the 10 in overtime.

“He’s just such a great basketball player,” Lafko said of Kramer. “He’s does so many things for our team. That situation that we had tonight (at the end of the game) was very similar to what we had against Butler (Tuesday). This time Kramer made the decision and knew he was going to take the ball and make a big finish.”

Alex Nyilas scored 12 and Robert Coll had 10 for the Talbots.

Tavarez finished with 23, and Foster and Reigard had 17 each for the Golden Rams.

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

Tags: Hampton, Highlands