Prep Hoops: Drue Gets It Done

Ask Benton coach Ron Winemiller what the breakdown would be on a seven-game series between his Rangers and Harrisburg and the seventh year Ranger head coach isn't bashful about giving up a number.

That number: 4-3 and after knocking off the Bulldogs at home back on January 5th, the Bulldogs returned the favor Friday night, disposing the Rangers 54-52 and handing Benton its second straight loss of the year.

Both Winemiller and Harrisburg head coach Randy Smithpeters shared the same philosophy at games end about how this particular Southern Illinois River-to-River Ohio Division battle played out.

Simply, it was Harrisburg starting how they finished last time at Benton and making just enough adjustments to preserve the win.

For Smithpeters, it was a big win for his Bulldogs in a big game.

"This was a big game as far as the conference standings go, but it's also a big win just from a pride factor. We didn't feel like we played really very well up at Benton (Jan. 5). We had a mediocre first half, a bad third quarter and fought our way back to make it a game. I thought our guys started out here, the way we finished up there."

The Bulldogs applied that trademark first quarter pressure against Benton, forcing the Rangers into seven quarter turnovers and opened with a 14-6 lead.

Harrisburg hoped on the back of Blake Drue in the second quarter as the sophomore guard stepped back to drill a couple of uncontested three-pointers to finish with nine in the quarter and 13 in the first half as the Bulldogs built a 12-point 32-20 halftime lead.

"That's something that we didn't start with at Benton, but did finish with," Smithpeters said of the first half effort and intensity. "I thought the guys did a great job of making decisions on the press. As the game went on, I thought Benton made some good adjustments to that and we had to re-adjust a little and take some of the pressure off. There was a stretch where we had a 14-point lead and it got cut to four. Part of that was our fault and part of that was just making some adjustments to playing a good team and we knew it was going to be good times and bad times."

It didn't take Benton long to fight their way back into the ballgame. The Rangers cut into the double-digit lead and got it into single digits when Marc Torres jumper at 2:36 in the third quarter got Benton to within nine at 40-31. Chase Owens, Kruz Hayes and Torres all followed with another bucket to make it 42-38 Harrisburg with 46.5 to play, but Harrisburg's Patrick Bittle put a little more breathing room between the two schools as the senior hit an off-balance 3-pointer to close out the quarter 45-38.

Benton went back on the offensive in the fourth quarter as Harrisburg had three turnovers and one missed shot in the first four minutes.

A pair of Austin Wills free throws tied the game at 45-all, but Harrisburg's Isaiah Saulsberry gave the Bulldogs the lead right back. That however was followed with a Brendan Ritchason bucket that knotted the game at 47-all.

What proceeded was dramatic basketball that included back-and-forth action, but after Saulsberry gave Harrisburg the lead after an old fashioned 3-point play, the Bulldogs would not relinquish the lead and hand the Rangers their second straight loss.

Winemiller added that while Harrisburg was just better in the first half than his Rangers were, he was proud and impressed with the defensive pressure his team showed in making a second half rally.

"I thought we played with a lot more sense of urgency in the second half and kind of mirrored the two games. Over there (at Benton) we were really good in the first half and they weren't. Over here, they were good in the first half and we weren't. I think it kind of shows the two teams can play a four-game series and it would end up 4-3 one way or the other.

"In the second half, we just talked about getting down and guarding them. I kind of thought in the first half, we let Blake (Drue) go where ever he wanted and I thought we did a better job in the second half. I thought Torres came in and gave us some athletics to guard (Anferee) Houston. I thought that was a big key and kind of sped Houston up a little bit and we were able to rebound. We were holding them to one shot and coming down and making some baskets and that helped as well."

Ritchason led all scorers as the senior forward finished with a double-double, putting down 20 on the court and grabbing 15 rebounds. The Rangers also got another 11 points from Wills.

Harrisburg put three players in double figures as Saulsberry scored 16 and Drue wasn't far behind netting 15, while Bittle tacked on 10 in the win.

Winemiller said the biggest surprise of the game for him was the performance put together by Drue.

"The two 3-pointers that if anybody has seen Harrisburg play this year had to surprise them. We talked about going under and knowing where Bittle and Saulsberry were and guarding Blake as a driver. I thought he played really well. That's the best game, taped or live that I have seen Blake played and I thought he was probably the difference in the game."

Murphysboro 58, Harrisburg 39

Noah Baird led three players in double figures with 15 points and Murphysboro never trailed on its way to a 58-39 victory over Harrisburg on Friday night.

The win on Senior Night was the 12th in a row for the Red Devils and clinched at least a tie for the SIRR Ohio Championship.

Murphysboro (24-3, 7-1) used a 16-4 run over the final six minutes of the first quarter to build an 18-6 lead.

Harrisburg trailed by as many as 15 points in the second quarter before a three-point play by Isaiah Saulsberry made it 28-16 at halftime.

Saulsberry's basket 21 seconds into the third quarter pulled the Bulldogs to within 10 points. But a 3-pointer by Jeremy House and consecutive baskets by Tim Marston pushed Murphysboro's advantage to 17 points at 35-18 and Harrisburg never got closer than 15 points for the remainder of the game.

Marston finished with 13 points for the Red Devils and Staci LaBranche added 10 points.

Saulsberry scored a game-high 18 points for Harrisburg. The Bulldogs went just 14-for-38 from the field, including an 0-for-10 performance from beyond the 3-point line.

Michael Dann covers prep and college sports for the Harrisburg Daily Register. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.

Benton 06 14 18 12 - 52

Harrisburg 14 18 13 09 - 54

Benton: Wills 2 6-6, Hinson 0 0-0 0, Oxford 1 1-3 5, Hayes 3 0-0 7, Ritchason 9 2-2 20, Torres 3 1-3 7, Owens 1 0-0 2, Wynn 0 0-2 0. Totals: 19 10-16 52.

Harrisburg: Bittle 3 2-4 10, Drue 3 7-8 15, Gould 1 0-0 2, Saulsberry 6 3-4 16, Bartok 0 0-0 0, Houston 2 3-3 7, Ferrell 0 4-4 4, Smith 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 19-23 54.

3-point FG: BHS 2 (Hayes, Wills), HBG 5 (Bittle 2, Drue 2, Saulsberry). Team Rebounds: BHS 23, HBG 15. Team Fouls: BHS 21, HBG 18.

HARRISBURG (39)

Bittle 0 3-4 3, Drue 2 2-3 6, Gould 2 0-0 4, Saulsberry 7 4-4 18, Houston 3 0-0 6, Bartok 0 0-0 0, Ferrell 0 2-2 2, Smith 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 11-13 39.

MURPHYSBORO (58)

House 2 0-0 5, J.Gaston 1 0-0 2, Baird 6 0-0 15, Marston 5 2-2 13, Miller 4 0-0 8, LaBranche 5 0-0 10, Easton 1 0-0 2, Gibbs 0 0-0 0, Miner 1 0-0 3, Greenwood 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 2-2 58.

3-point goals -- Harrisburg 0, Murphysboro 6 (House, Baird 3, Marston, Miner). Rebounds -- Harrisburg 25, Murphysboro 23. Turnovers -- Harrisburg 16, Murphysboro 10. Records -- Murphysboro is 24-3, 7-1 SIRR Ohio Division.