HAMPSHIRE -- Community started slow and finished strong to defeat Hampshire 60-32 in non-district action Monday night.

Josh Hull put a six spot on the board in the opening minutes to pace a rather lethargic Viking offense to a 12-6 lead at the horn.

The Community (10-8) offense may have been a little sluggish early, but the defense was supercharged from the get-go as they held the Hawks to just two free throws by Hunter Lemay to bump the lead to 28-8 as the teams took the floor for the third period.

"We stressed the need to come out and play hard tonight," Viking coach Jace Bryant said. "We should want to represent our school to the best of our ability every time we pull that jersey on.

"Hampshire is a little down right now, they play a lot of youngsters a majority of the time but we owe it to ourselves to come out and play the game the right way no matter who the opponent is or their stature in the standings.

"I felt that the kids played hard and we fine tuned some areas of our game that were a little lacking the last couple of games."

The Viking defense continued to impress by holding Hampshire under double digits again in the third quarter while their offense was running roughshod over the young Hawks to lead 48-16 as the final stanza loomed.

Freshmen and sophomores garnered some extensive playing time in the fourth quarter and managed to overcome a barrage of 3-pointers by Hampshire, who had four in the closing minutes, to seal the deal for the Purple and Gold.

The win was big for the Vikings in several ways.

None were bigger than gaining some confidence and momentum offensively as they encounter two key opponents, Forrest and Cascade, in their quest for the No. 3 seed and an all-important home game in the district tournament.

"It was a good win, and I am pleased that we were able to come out focused and ready to play the game from the opening whistle," Bryant said. "We have two big district games coming up this week we will need to be at the top of our game for both of them.

"We finished what we started here tonight, something that we have had trouble with this season. Time will tell, but it does appear that we are beginning to really get it when we talk about the things it takes to be a winner."

Hull tied for game-high scoring honors with 13 points in very limited playing time and Dustin White pitched in with 10 points for the Vikings, who placed nine players in the scoring column.

Hampshire was led by Hunter Lemay with 13 and Zach Lemire with 10.

The Vikes welcome District 9-A rival Forrest tonight at 6.