Harrisburg boys run past Hardin County; advance in EHT
Randy Smithpeters doesn't consider himself a morning person. Luckily for the Harrisburg head coach, he's surrounded by kids who getting up early doesn't seem to bother.
The No. 2 seeded Bulldogs eased past Hardin County 68-49 in the morning session of the 53rd playing of the Eldorado Holiday Tournament Thursday morning.
"Morning games always seem to be tough for teenagers and I'm not a morning person, I'd rather play at midnight then 8 a.m., but I thought our guys came out and responded well," Smithpeters said. "I have to tip my hat to Isaiah Saulsberry for getting the guys up around 7 a.m. and having some breakfast together, that's a unusual trait and you just don't get that many high school kids that think that far ahead and think of the team, so I appreciate that kind of leadership from him."
The 6-foot-3 senior guard had a game-high 21 points on 8-of-18 shooting and was joined in double figures by Dalton Lambert, who finished with a double-double, accounting for 12 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan Bartok also notched double digits, tacking on 12 points and finishing with eight rebounds.
Harrisburg wasn't sharp offensively and Smithpeters attributed most of that to the Christmas break, where his team had some time off following their 57-47 loss to Benton back on Dec. 21st.
"We had taken some days off for the Christmas break, so I think our game was a bit of a rusty game from that and that what I expected. I just hope that rust gets knocked off pretty quickly. We come back (today) against a very, very tough Massac County team and a team that I'm sure a lot of people will agree is probably a top three or four team in the tournament. Why they are a seven seed, I have no idea."
Defensively is where Harrisburg made most of its strides, forcing Hardin County into 22 turnovers in the game.
"I wanted our press to be a little more effective, but then again, I didn't want us to overstretch ourselves," Smithpeters said. "Hardin County hit some shots and we didn't shoot as well as we usually do. We missed some easy shots, layups and I think our shots will fall better. I was happy with what we did."
The Cougars cut the deficit to 11 two times early in the third and fourth quarter, but couldn't pull any closer.
Hardin County had three players reach double figures as Gabe Fowler had a team-high 15 points, while Jamison Hicks had a 14 points and Jaron Austin netted 13 in the loss.
"They have a nice group, the big kid (Hicks) has a nice touch and a lot of size. Hardin County is not too bad of a team and I knew that coming in. I don't know if they should have been playing the No. 2 seed in the tournament and I think they feel the same way. They battled us and we never could get that distance we wanted against them and battled right to the end."
Carson Burtis added eight points for Harrisburg, while Blake Drue finished with five points, Will Gibbs flipped in four points. Carl Russ had two points and Connor Phalin tossed in a free throw.
The win was No. 100 for the Bulldogs in their 44 years of playing in the tournament. Harrisburg is now 100-57 and will take on Massac County today at 1:45. Hardin County moved into Thursday night's elimination game at 10 p.m. against Hamilton County, who lost 64-34 to Massac County.
Massac County 64, Hamilton County 34
Isaiah Thompson had a game-high 20 points and Noah Taylor tacked on 11 as Massac County knocked off Hamilton County 64-34 in the opening game of the Eldorado Holiday Tournament.
Rudy Schaefer paced Hamilton County with a team-high 15 points in the loss.
The win was No. 84 for the Patriots as they have been a part of the EHT for 32 seasons.
Anna-Jonesboro 76, Carrier Mills-Stonefort 29
Anna-Jonesboro put five players in double figures as the Wildcats used balanced scoring to beat Carrier Mills-Stonefort 76-29 in the morning session Thursday at the EHT.
Jake Parr had a game-high 16 points and Sheldon McGrath netted 11, while Ross Finnan, Noah Smith and Logan Sawyer all had 10 points for the Wildcats in the win.
Rostin Lewis put up a team-high 12 points for CMSF and Darion Barners had 10 in the loss.
Union County, Ky. 69, Edwards Co. 54
Union County got a game-high 25 points from Logan Thames and two other Braves scored in double figures as Union County, Ky. beat Edwards County 69-54 Thursday at the EHT.
Lincoln Sisk dumped in 14 for Union County and Cade Duncan had 11 in the win.
Cade Schnicker had 21 points to lead Edwards County, while Justin Wallace tacked on 12 in the loss.
Carmi-White County 57, Herrin 55
Bryce Northcott launched a 28-footer at the horn sending Carmi-White County past Herrin 57-55.
in a EHT classic Thursday night.
Northcott finished with 13 in the win, while Travis Black shared co-game-high honors with Herrin's Drew Ringle with 18 points.
Dylan Courty netted 12 for the Bulldogs in the win.
Brandon Anthony tacked on 13 for Herrin, while Cameron Vaughn had 10 in the loss.
West Frankfort 60, Fairfield 49
No. 4 seed Fairfield was the first seeded team to lose at the EHT Thursday as they were upset by West Frankfort 60-49.
The Redbirds were led in scoring by 19 points from C.J. Johnson, while Bradlee Corslin chipped in with 16 for West Frankfort in the win.
Fairfield also had a pair of double-digit scorers as Kobi Dagg (15) and Jayden Lewis (13) paced the Mules.
Massac County 64, Hamilton County 34
Massac County 18 24 16 01 - 64
Hamilton County 05 14 07 08 - 34
Massac County: Mizell 0 3-4 3, Vickers 1 4-4 7, Taylor 4 2-2 11, Burgess 2 0-0 4, Thompson 8 4-5 20, Windhorst 1 2-2 4, Travis 3 0-0 7, Russell 2 0-0 5, Davenport 1 1-1 3. Totals: 22 16-18 64.
Hamilton County: Whipple 2 5-7 9, Schaffer 4 2-3 15, Braden 1 0-0 2, VonAbbema 0 4-4 4, Rubenacker 1 0-0 3, Weaver 1 0-0 2. Totals: 9 11-14 34
3-point FG: MCO 4 (Vickers, Taylor, Travis, Russell), HCO 5 (Schaffer 4, Rubenacker), Fouls: MCO 12, HCO 19
Harrisburg 68, Hardin County 49
Harrisburg 19 21 15 13 - 68
Hardin County 09 17 14 09 - 49
Harrisburg: Burtis 3 0-0 8, Drue 2 0-0 5, Saulsberry 8 4-4 21, Lambert 4 4-4 12, Bartok 6 2-2 12, Gibbs 2 0-0 4, Russ 1 0-0 2, Phalin 0 1-2 1. Totals: 26 11-12 68
Hardin County: Cullum 2 2-2 5, Austin 5 2-4 13, Fowler 6 2-2 15, Hicks 6 2-2 14. Totals: 19 8-10 49
3-point FG: HBG 5 (Burtis 2, Drue, Salusberry, Russ), HCO 1 (Cullum); Rebounds: HBG 29, HCO 14;
Turnovers: HBG 11, HCO 22; Fouls: HBG 14, HCO 8.
Anna-Jonesboro 76, Carrier Mills-Stonefort 29
Anna-Jonesboro 22 18 26 10 - 76
Carrier Mills-Stonefort 02 12 04 10 - 29
Anna-Jonesboro: T. Smith 1 0-2 2, Finnan 4 0-0 10, McGrath 3 5-6 11, Pena 1 1-1 3, Zimmerman 1 2-2 5, Reynolds 1 0-0 2, N. Smith 4 0-0 10, Parr 6 3-4 16, Overstreet 1 0-0 2, McFarland 1 0-0 2, McMahan 0 1-2 1, Sawyer 5 0-0 10, Craig 1 0-0 2. Totals: 29 12-17 76.
Carrier Mills-Stonefort: Barners 4 2-2 10, Lewis 2 0-0 4, Lewis 5 0-2 12, Fitzgerlad 1 1-2 3. Totals: 12 3-6 29
3-point FG: A-J 6 (Finnan 2, N. Smith 2, Zimmerman, Parr), CMSF 2 (Lewsi); Fouls: A-J 10, CMSF 11.
Union County, Ky. 69, Edwards County 54
Union County Ky. 19 17 19 14 - 69
Edwards County 09 18 13 14 - 54
Union County, Ky: Duncan 3 2-2 11, Thomas 11 2-5 25, Steward 1 0-2 3, Dunford 2 2-6 7, Sisk 6 2-3 14, Girten 2 0-0 6, Johnson 0 1-2 1, King 1 1-4 3. Totals: 26 10-24 69.
Edwards County: Clodfelter 3 0-0 7, Schnicker 7 5-7 21, Wallace 5 1-2 12, Cowger 2 0-0 5, Schmiltler 2 5-6 9. Totals: 19 11-15 54.
3-point FG: UCKY 7 (Duncan 3, Girten 2, Steward, Dunford), EDCO 5 (Schnicker 2, Clodfelter, Wallace, Cowger). Fouls: UCKY 15, EDCO 21.
Carmi-White County 57, Herrin 55
Carmi-White County 19 14 08 16 - 57
Herrin 20 04 15 16 - 55
Carmi-White County: Lamp 4 1-3 9, Courty 4 3-4 12, Yates 1 0-0 2, Mahan 0 3-4 3, Northcott 5 0-0 13, Black 6 5-6 18. Totals: 20 12-17 57.
Herrin: Anthony 5 1-2 13, Nesler 3 2-2 9, LeQuatte 1 0-0 2, Holloway 1 0-0 3, Ringle 8 1-2 13, Vaughn 5 0-0 10. Totals: 23 4-6 55.
3-point FG: CWC 5 (Northcott 3, Black, Courty), HHS 5 (Anthony 2, Nesler, Holloway, Ringle), Fouls: CWC 11, HHS 17.
West Frankfort 60, Fairfield 49
West Frankfort 11 14 09 26 - 60
Fairfield 11 08 13 17 - 49
West Frankfort: Levanti 3 1-2 7, Wolfe 0 1-2 1, Johnson 5 8-5 19, Hammers 3 3-6 9, Thrash 3 2-5 8,, Croslin 5 6-8 16. Totals: 19 18-31 60
Fairfield: Gilbert 1 0-1 2, Vaughan 1 2-4 4, Estes 4 0-0 8, Lewis 6 0-2 13, Dagg 4 7-11 15, Hixenbaugh 0 2-2 2, Stewart 2 0-2 5. Totals: 18 11-22 49.
3-point FG: WF 4 (Johnson), FHS 2 (Lewis, Stewart); Fouls: WF 21, FHS 26