JEFFERSON TWP — When Andrew Wirtz is in the shooting zone, there are few who can stop him.

Wirtz, a senior guard for the Knoch boys basketball team, entered such a scintillating shooting state in the third quarter Friday night, hitting three 3-pointers and scoring 11 of his team-high 13 points.

Unfortunately for Knoch, he entered that zone too late to affect the outcome in a 60-39 loss to section rival Hampton.

"He can shoot," said Knoch coach Chris Andreassi. "He works very hard."

Even Wirtz couldn't save Knoch (7-10, 2-6) from the imposing front line of Hampton.

The Talbots' starting lineup featured three players 6-feet-5 or taller.

The 6-0 Wirtz guarded the 6-7 Bill Luther, holding him to 13 points.

"I thought he did a tremendous job on Luther," Andreassi said. "He's been doing that all year. He's been on the other team's best player all year."

But the Knights were unable to match up against Hampton's other big guys, who combined for 24 points and numerous second-chance baskets.

Forward Jake McTighe, who was away on a college visit, didn't play for Knoch.

Hampton led 33-11 at halftime and cruised in the second half.

"One of the things we talked about before the game was playing consistent, no matter the opponent," said Hampton coach Joe Lafko. "I thought in the first half we came out, played hard, executed and took a nice lead into the locker room."

Tim Donegan paced the Talbots with 16 points to lead all scorers.

Knoch played even with Hampton in the second half.

"Our guys kept competing, kept working," Andreassi said. "There's just no margin for error against these guys."

HAMPTON 60Keith Weinheimer 0-1 2-2 2, David Klodowski 0-1 0-0 0, Bill Luther 6-11 0-0 13, Alex Schneider 0-1 0-0 0, Nathan Winek 3-3 2-4 9, Christian Dill 2-3 1-2 5, Nathanael Sayles 0-1 0-0 0, Matt Hyre 1-1 0-0 2, Brian Steele 1-4 2-2 4, Mark Pilarski 0-0 0-2 0, Tim Donegan 8-16 0-0 16, Darko Jurkovic 0-0 1-2 1, Todd Brown 4-12 0-0 8. Totals: 25-54 8-14 60.

KNOCH 39Corey Miller 1-4 2-2 4, Daniel McCormick 0-0 0-0 0, Kevin Wood 0-1 0-0 0, Ryan Schultheis 0-2 0-0 0, Andrew Wirtz 5-16 0-0 13, Chris Cetnar 1-3 2-3 4, Jake Hickey 0-0 0-0 0, Adam Tuzikow 2-2 0-2 4, Robert Zanella 0-2 2-2 2, Nathan Junk 3-4 1-2 7, Adam Seger 2-3 0-0 5.

Totals: 14-37 7-11 39.

Hampton 20 13 19 8—60Knoch 7 4 19 9—393-point goals: Hampton 2 (Winek, Luther); Knoch 4 (Wirtz 3, Seger).

Tuesday: Knoch at Deer Lakes