By james art 
Entertainment was the focus for both Hampshire and host Santa Fe coming into Friday’s District 10-1A clash at Wayne Walters Gym.
For the Wildcats, the goal was to enjoy Senior Night and try to avoid any injuries that could potentially derail a second straight state tournament trip.
For the visiting Hawks, winners of just one of their last 71 contests, the idea was to play hard and not worry about the result.
“I told them, ‘let’s have fun. Let’s enjoy the game,” Hampshire coach Clay Tyree said. “I don’t think they did that.”
Santa Fe eventually cruised to a 55-24 win – improving to 16-2 overall and 3-0 in district play and providing a glimpse into the future while celebrating its upperclassmen.
“You always want to respect your opponent, but we knew we were a heavy favorite,” Wildcats coach Brad Slaughter said. “Sometimes it’s hard to get up for these type of games.
“Our varsity guys were focused on having fun and staying healthy, not getting beat and letting the younger guys get some minutes.”
By inserting Weston Potts into the starting lineup with seniors Andrew Graves, Caleb Hazlett, Macon Adkisson and Oden Slaughter, the coach was able to take that unit off the field en masse and leave the sophomore group of Jax Slaughter, TC Brady, Carson Adkisson, Brandon Sisk and Anthony Hardin spend a lot of time together.
“I thought those guys played really well together in the second quarter,” Slaughter said, as the reserves helped extend a 21-4 advantage after the opening period to 35-10 after intermission.
The outlook never got better for Hampshire (1-14, 0-4) – much to Tyree’s dismay.
“I was a little disappointed with our effort,” he said. “One thing we struggle with is how we respond when we fall. I need to do a better job of motivating my boys to pay with more pride. I want to see the effort and the hustle. “Are we playing with the right mindset, the right energy, are we communicating?”
“It’s something we struggle with a little bit.”
For Hampshire, the loss followed a 76-29 loss Tuesday at postseason regular Richland, also in league play.
“It’s been a tough week,” Tyree said. “It’s a tough area, a tough area.”
As Tyree judged, it was a night for the Wildcats to enjoy.
“It was a night of fun and a good game,” Oden Slaughter said. “Weston is one of my best friends. It was great to have him there with us.
“We probably weren’t as focused as we should have been. We will be more focused for Culleokas, Richlands. It was just to have fun, save our energy and be prepared for the bigger games.”
Graves had 15 points (three 3-pointers) and Oden Slaughter 10 in the win – raising Slaughter’s career total to 3,166, the 13th most in TSSAA boys basketball history. Eli Stevens’ seven points paced Hampshire.
Santa Fe hits a tough stretch of the district schedule next week, facing Culleoka twice in three nights (Tuesday at home, Thursday on the road) and hosting Cornersville on Friday.
Lady Wildcat win in late 3s: The Santa Fe girls overcame a nine-point deficit in the second period to beat Hampshire 41-30.
The hosts didn’t make many shots, but they made timely ones – eight 3-pointers, five in the final 8:01 – to rally for the win.
“We finally got going,” sophomore Kendall Massey said after scoring a game-high 12 points on four plays, three in the fourth quarter. “Throughout the game I tried to keep my head up and keep my girls’ heads up. I finally knocked one down and that got us going.”
Hampshire (5-11, 0-4) built a 16-7 cushion two minutes into the second period behind Ivy Arnold’s early seven points, but all nine of the Lady Wildcats’ points in the quarter came from behind the arc. Addison Prince’s layup cut the Lady Hawks’ lead to 18-16 at the break.
The visitors hit an offensive lull in the third quarter and Riley Dodson took advantage, hitting another long jumper just before the buzzer to put Santa Fe (6-12, 1-2) ahead 26-25 in the final frame.
Massey took control from there.
“Kendall left. She looked open,” Santa Fe coach Derrick Adkison said. “If she can get 3s without pressure, inside-out 3s, she’ll be good.”
She did and it was.
Meanwhile, Hampshire were disappointed not to close out the contest when they had the chance to do so.
“I think we thought it was a pretty important play because we thought it was a winnable ball game,” senior Addie Runyon said. “But we’ll have to play them again at home.”
Santa Fe Boys 55, Hampshire 24
h 4 6 7 7 – 24
S 21 14 13 7 – 55
Hampshire (24) – Dierks Brown 6, Dakota Disbro 4, Eli Stevens 7, Dallen Sims 1, Terrin Brown 3, Colton Shaw 2, Brayden Pugh 1
Santa Fe (55) – Weston Potts 2, Caleb Hazlett 1, Andrew Graves 15, Macon Adkison 5, Oden Slaughter 10, TC Brady 7, Carson Adkison 3, Brandon Sisk 3, Anthony Hardin 6, Judson Slaughter 3
triplets – Hampshire 4 (D. Brown 2, Stevens, T. Brown), Santa Fe 9 (Graves 3, M. Adkison, A. Slaughter, Brady, K. Adkison, Sisk, J. Slaughter)
Santa Fe Girls 41, Hampshire 30
h 12 6 7 5 – 30
S 7 9 10 15 – 41
Hampshire (30) – Sophie Lawson 8, Ivy Arnold 10, Sage Arnold 3, Addie Runyon 5, Sydney Gilliam 4
Santa Fe (41) – Nora Kate Butt 7, Lily Dodge 4, Kendall Massey 12, Riley Dodson 9, Addison Prince 9
triplets – Hampshire 3 (I.Arnold 2, S.Arnold), Santa Fe 8 (Massey 4, Dodson 2, Prince 2)