JEFFERSON TWP — The Knoch boys basketball team was hoping to make a statement against a largely intact Hampton team that made it to the WPIAL quad-A finals and to the PIAA quarterfinals last season.

This, though, wasn’t exactly the statement the Knights had in mind.

The Talbots scored 28 straight points from early in the first quarter to early in the second to build a 31-4 lead and cruised to a 77-38 win over Knoch Monday night.

“We obviously wanted to start a lot better than that,” said Knoch coach Ron McNabb. “They are talented. They are very well-coached. They brought a lot of pressure and a lot of heat.”

Knoch (6-1) didn’t quite expect that kind of athleticism and tenacity from the Hampton defense.

But that’s what the Knights saw early. That and a flurry of turnovers that fueled the Talbots’ 28-0 run.

“They’re so long, and it bothered us,” McNabb said. “I thought we were a little more ready for that. Just too many turnovers. It was a disappointing way to start.”

On the other side, it was a perfect start for Hampton, which didn’t want to give the Knights and their rabid fan base a reason to believe.

Ryan Luther quashed any such upset notion early, scoring 10 of his game-high 23 points in the first quarter. Luther, a 6-foot-8 senior forward who is heading to the University of Pittsburgh next year, also had three dunks in the game.

His brother, 6-7 forward Collin, started out slowly, but hit a 3-pointer from nearly half court at the end of the second quarter to give Hampton a 40-16 lead at halftime.

If there is any solace for Knoch, it is the fact it won’t see too many like the Luthers the rest of the season.

“Thank goodness,” McNabb said. “And they’ve gotten so much better than last year. Man, they are really, really good.”

So good that Hampton coach Joe Lafko believes this season could be a very special one for the Talbots (8-0), who have not been challenged so far this season.

Hampton’s closest game has been a 21-point win against Penn-Trafford in the season-opener. The Talbots have won games by 40, 38, 56, 28, 46, 31 and now 39 since.

“This is what we’ve been doing all season,” Lafko said. “It’s a good group. This group has been working hard to do a lot of special things. They are a special group to me.”

Despite the loss, there were some bright spots for Knoch.

Senior guard David Gallagher scored 16 points to lead the Knights. Most of his points came not from 3-point range, but from slashing to the hoop.

It’s a dynamic to his game that Gallagher has added this season and he displayed it against the Talbots.

“That’s the one part of his game that he didn’t have last year. He was a shooter last year and that was it,” McNabb said. “Now he’s starting to get the ball to the rim and finish. That’s because he spent time in the weight room and got stronger. I was really happy with that.”

McNabb was also happy with the way his team recovered from the poor start.

Knoch went on a 10-0 run in the second quarter to close the gap to 31-14, but that was as close as the Knights came.

“The kids didn’t quit,” McNabb said. “They kept after it. They kept battling. They kept blocking out and doing the little things. That’s what we were looking for.

“We saw some positives out of this,” McNabb added. “But we also see we have some work to do to get better.”

Knoch returns to action at 5 p.m. Friday, taking on Ford City in the Freeport Tournament.

HAMPTON 77

Jack Obringer 5-7 1-1 12, Ryan Luther 9-11 5-7 23, Collin Luther 1-4 5-8 8, David Huber 4-7 0-0 11, Joey Lafko 1-5 0-0 2, Nathan Hyre 0-5 0-0 0, Hayden Seserko 2-5 0-0 4, Jack Morrison 2-7 0-0 5, Trace McConnell 2-3 0-0 4, Pat Murray 0-1 0-0 0, Chandler McKinney 0-0 0-0 0, Ben Huber 2-2 0-0 5, Jackson DeGregoric 0-0 0-0 0, Antonio Ianadi 1-1 0-0 3, Jack Kramer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 29-58 11-16 77.

KNOCH 38

Austin Miller 0-3 0-0 0, David Gallagher 6-12 2-2 16, Stephen Oblich 3-3 0-2 6, Matt Zanella 2-4 2-2 6, Chris Kier 1-1 0-0 2, Jim Larrimer 1-2 1-3 2, Troy Hixon 0-1 0-0 0, Austin Hannes 0-0 0-0 0, Connor Shinsky 0-0 0-0 0, Aiden Albert 2-3 0-0 5, Mac Christy 0-0 0-0 0, Trevour Swihart 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-29 5-9 38.

Hampton 26 14 21 16—77

Knoch4 12 12 10—38

3-point goals: Hampton 8 (Obringer, C. Luther, David Huber 3, Jack Morrison, Ben Huber, Ianadi); Knoch 3 (Gallagher 2, Albert)

JV: Hampton 52-32

Friday: Knoch vs. Ford City, 5 p.m.