JACKSON TWP — Hampton was thinking payback when it visited Seneca Valley's William Paul Gymnasium Tuesday night.

The Talbots used a second-half comeback to make it happen.

Trailing the Raiders 41-32 with 5:10 left in the third quarter, Hampton rallied with a 14-5 run to close the period, then earned the deciding edge in a fierce final quarter to grab a 64-61 Section 3-AAAA boys basketball victory.

The Talbots suffered a 22-point home loss at the hands of the Raiders Jan. 11.

“Any time a section opponent beats you in that first meeting, it's a motivating factor the next time you play them,” said veteran Hampton coach Joe Lafko. “That was certainly the case tonight.”

The Raiders trailed 64-59 late when Matt Darby's layup cut it to a one-possession game with 5.4 seconds left.

After successfully inbounding the ball, Hampton's Ryan Luther was fouled and stepped to the free-throw line with 4.1 seconds remaining, but missed both shots, keeping SV's hopes alive.

But R.J. McCauley's desperation 3-point attempt from well beyond the arc did not fall and the Raiders walked off the court with their fourth consecutive section loss.

“We were up by nine there in the third quarter, but free throws proved to be the difference tonight,” said SV coach Victor Giannotta.

Indeed, the Talbots outscored the Raiders 16-6 from the charity stripe in the second half.

A thorn in the Raiders' side was Hampton sophomore guard David Huber, who scored a game-high 19 points while draining four 3-pointers.

It was Huber's conventional 3-point play with 5:06 left in the third period that jump-started Hampton's comeback. Moments later, he hit his final trifecta of the game, cutting SV's lead to 41-38.

“Earlier in the season, David was averaging 17 points per game,” said Lafko. “So, we know what he's capable of.”

The teams were knotted at 46 with eight minutes left.

The Talbots (18-3, 10-3), now winners of seven straight, took the lead for good with 5:20 left in the game when Collin Luther followed his 2-point bucket with a free throw, putting his team up 52-50.

SV (14-7, 7-6) was without senior center Alex Snyder, who suffered a concussion in Friday's loss at Pine-Richland.

“We definitely missed him on the offensive side,” said Giannotta. “He's a big presence in the post.”

Matt Darby (13 points), McCauley (12) and T.J. Holl (11) all reached double digits in points for the Raiders, who will close the regular season at Butler on Friday.

“Obviously, we want to win,” said Giannotta of possibly breaking the team's four-game section losing streak. “Hopefully, we will and will get a decent seed in the playoffs. But no matter what happens Friday, we know we are in and we're glad about that.”

HAMPTON 64

John Floss 2 0-0 6, Jack Obringer 1 2-2 5, Ryan Luther 4 8-11 16, Collin Luther 3 5-7 13, Jake Adams 1 0-0 2, Joey Lafko 1 0-0 3, David Huber 6 3-5 19, Rich Ford 0 0-0 0, Trace McConnell 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 18-25 64.

SENECA VALLEY 61

Matt Darby 5 3-3 13, Easton Bazzoli 2 1-2 5, Mike Smith 4 0-0 8, T.J. Holl 4 1-2 11, Eric Woods 2 0-0 6, R.J. McCauley 5 2-3 12, Taylor Mantick 2 2-2 6, Chad Izenas 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 9-12 61.

Hampton 14 12 20 18—64

Seneca Valley15 18 13 15—61

3-point goals: Hampton 10 (Huber 4, Floss 2, C. Luther 2, Lafko, Obringer); Seneca Valley 4 (Woods 2, Holl 2)

Friday: Seneca Valley at Butler