EHT: Eagles Go Back-To-Back

In 1987 a gallon of gas costs you 87 cents, Talking Alf was the hot Christmas toy and George Michael's "Faith" closed out the calendar year as the No. 1 hit.

It was also the same year Eldorado and Harrisburg met in the finals of the Eldorado Holiday Tournament and in fitting fashion, the Eagles closed out the year No. 1 - as top seeded Eldorado - rallied to beat rival Harrisburg 56-49 in the championship game of the EHT.

Eldorado had to have a little faith, having a one-point lead only twice in the first quarter and didn't lead again until the end of the third quarter when they led 36-35.

Harrisburg, who led by as many as five at 32-27 in the third quarter after an Isaiah Saulsberry bucket, found finding the bottom of the rim from the field difficult as the Bulldogs closed out the second half with just four field goals, including one in the fourth quarter.

Harrisburg got to within one three times, thanks in part to some clutch free throw shooting from Jordan Bartok and Dalton Lambert, but a Harrisburg turnover with 52.7 seconds to play and an ensuing foul sent Eldorado's John Meredith to the free throw line, where the senior knocked down a pair to give EHS a 52-47 lead and ultimately sealed the deal.

Meredith finished with a team-high 18 points and took home Most Valuable Player honors, while Jacob Traxler had 14 points, two of which came on a bucket with 1:08 to play after Lambert's two free throws cut the Eldorado lead to 48-47 and Traxler responded with a 15-footer before the Harrisburg turnover. Braden Attebury had 12 points in the win.

Kale Oglesby netted nine for the Eagles in the win, while Ray May tacked on three.

Saulsberry, who was named to the EHT All-Tournament Team for the second straight season, led all scorers with 22 points and was responsible for 10 points in the first quarter as Harrisburg took a 23-17 lead and went into the locker room up 23-25 as Eldorado closed the gap, going on a 6-0 run and all points coming from Kale Oglesby, who was named the Duff-Kingston Sportsmanship Award winner.

The first half featured eight lead changes and five ties as Eldorado and Harrisburg played back-and-forth basketball. The game ended with nine lead changes as Traxler gave Eldorado the lead for good with 38 seconds to play in the third quarter.

The Eagles have now won eight EHT titles and have also won three straight over Harrisburg in recent matches. Meanwhile, Harrisburg played in its 17th championship game and has been in the finals eight of the last nine years.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: The All-Tournament Team from the 53rd Eldorado Holiday Tournament included Cade Schnicker (Edwards County), Drew Ringle (Herrin), Travis Black (Carmi-White County), Isaiah Thompson (Massac County), C.J. Johnson (West Frankfort), Jake Parr (Anna-Jonesboro), Keagan Thrash (West Frankfort), Jordan Bartok (Harrisburg), Jacob Traxler (Eldorado), Isaiah Saulsberry (Harrisburg), Kale Oglesby (Eldorado, Duff-Kingston), John Meredith (Eldorado, MVP).

Michael Dann covers prep and college sports for the Harrisburg Register, Eldorado Journal & The Gallatin County Democrat. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.

Eldorado 56, Harrisburg 49

Eldorado 17 08 11 20 - 56

Harrisburg 23 05 07 14 - 49

Eldorado: Meredith 6 6-7 18, Oglesby 3 3-2 9, May 1 1-3 3, Attebury 5 2-3 12, Traxler 6 2-2 14. Totals: 21 13-18 56.

Harrisburg: Burtis 3 1-2 9, 1 2-2 4, Saulsberry 7 6-5 22, Lambert 2 3-3 7, Bartok 2 3-6 7. Totals: 15 14-19 49.

3-point FG: EHS 1 (Oglesby), HBG 5 (Saulsberry 3, Burtis 2), Fouls: EHS 20, HBG 18

Harrisburg 54,

Anna-Jonesboro 52

Harrisburg watched a 13-point lead evaporate in the second half and the Bulldogs had to hold off a furious rally by Anna-Jonesboro to survive 54-52, moving into Saturday night's championship game of the EHT.

The Bulldogs, who held a 31-23 lead at the half were outscored 29-23 in the second half, but were led in scoring by Dalton Lambert's 18 points and Isaiah Saulsberry's 17 points.

Anna-Jonesboro was paced by Jake Parr's 23 points and the senior forward was joined in double figures by 12 from Sheldon McGrath.

Blake Drue scored seven points for Harrisburg, while Carson Burtis finished with five. Jordan Bartok flipped in four points, while Carl Russ had two and Will Sanders tossed in a free throw.

Eldorado 64,

West Frankfort 55

Eldorado used a bala0nced scoring attack, putting three players in double figures as the Eagles, the No. 1 seed in the EHT, got back to the championship game for the second s straight year with a 64-55 victory over West Frankfort

Jacob Traxler had a team-high 16 points, while Joe Mayberry came off the bench for 14 points and John Meredith tacked on 10 in the win.

Kale Oglesby and Braden Attebury each netted nine in the win for the Eagles, while Ray May and Aiden Whitlock each had three points a piece.

Keegan Thrash netted 17 points for West Frankfort in the loss and was joined in double figures by 13 points from C.J. Johnson

Harrisburg 54, Anna-Jonesboro 52

Harrisburg 13 18 15 08 - 54

Anna-Jonesboro 08 15 14 15 - 52

Harrisburg: Burtis 2 0-0 5, Drue 3 0-2 7, Saulsberry 7 0-1 17, Lambert 9 0-1 18, Bartok 2 0-0 4, Gibbs 1 0-0 2, Sanders 0 1-2 1. Totals: 24 1-6 54.

Anna-Jonesboro: Pinnon 2 0-0 6, McGrath 5 0-0 12, Zimmerman 1 0-0 3, Parr 9 2-3 23, McFarland 1 0-0 2, Sawyer 3 0-0 6. Totals: 21 2-3 52

3-point FG: 5 (Saulsberry 3, Burtis, Drue), A-J X; Fouls: HBG 10

Eldorado 14 22 10 18 - 64

West Frankfort 07 17 13 18 - 55

Eldorado Meredith 4 2-5 10, Oglesby 2 3-4 9, May 1 1-2 3, Attebury 3 3-5 9, Traxler 6 4-4 16, Mayberry 5 2-4 14, Whitlock 0 3-4 3. Totals 21 18-28 64.

West Frankfort: Wolfe 0 2-2 2, Johnson 4 3-4 13, Hammers 0 3-4 3, Thrash 5 3-5 17, Croslin 2 0-0 4, Levanti 2 2-2 7, Gaylor 1 0-0 3, Melvin 3 0-1 6. Totals: 17 13-18 55.

3-point FG: ELD 4 (Oglesby 2, Mayberry 2), WF 8 (Thrash 4, Johnson 2, Levanti, Gaylor); Fouls: ELD 17, WF 23.

GAME 25:

Anna-Jonesboro 71,

West Frankfort 55

Jake Parr, who played all of Saturday with flu like symptoms had a tournament to remember, scoring 28 points in the third place game, propelling the Wildcats to a 71-55 victory over West Frankfort.

Parr was the only Wildcat to score in double figures as was named to the EHT All-Tournament Team.

Kyle Hammers (12) and Keegan Thrash (10) both scored in double figures for the Redbirds.

GAME 24: Massac County 62, Carmi-White County 60

Massac County erased a 19-point second half deficit to come back and beat Carmi-White County 62-60 for the fifth place title Saturday at the EHT.

Isaiah Thompson had a game-high 24 points and Noah Taylor also finished in double figures for Massac County.

Carmi-White County's Travis Black also had 24 points and Bryce Northcott had 12 for the Bulldogs in the loss.

GAME 23: Herrin 62,

Edwards County 50

Herrin had four players finish in double figures and held off a late charge by Edwards County to pick up a 62-50 victory and claimed the consolation championship of the Eldorado Holiday Tournament Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers were led by 18 points from Drew Ringle, who made the EHT All-Tournament team and were joined by 12 points a piece from Brandon Anthony and Bronson Nesler. Hayden Holloway tacked on 10 for Herrin in the win.

In addition, Luke Le Quatte finished with four, Trenton Stricklin had three points, Colton Towle tacked on two and Jackson Yates tossed in a free throw.

Justin Wallace scored a game-high 20 points for Edwards County and the Lions got another 12 points from Cade Schnicker and 10 points from Tugger Clodfelter. Marty Schmittler scored seven points for Edwards County.

Schnicker also made the EHT All-Tournament Team.

GAME 20:

Carmi-White County 51, Gallatin County 35

Travis Black and Justin Long both scored in double figures for Carmi-White County, sending them into the fifth place title game with a 51-35 win over Gallatin County

Travis Black led the Bulldogs with 13 points, while Justin Long accounted for 13 for CWC.

Gallatin County got 14 points from Robbie Prince, who was the lone Hawk to score in double figures.

Audie Goebel and Aaron Walters each scored six points for Gallatin County, while Garrett Rushing finished with four points. Will Henson had three and Lucas Reeder finished with two points.

Carmi-White County

Gallatin County 08 08 09 10 - 35

Carmi-White County 15 14 13 09 - 51

Carmi-White County: Long 6 1-2 13, Courty 1 0-0 2, Yates 3 1-2 7, Northcott 3 2-2 9, Black 8 1-5 18, Phelps 1 0-0 2. Totals: 22 5-11 51.
Gallatin County: Goebel 3 0-1 6, Prince 6 2-4 14, Walters 3 0-0 6, Rushing 2 0-0 4, Reeder 1 0-0 2, Henson 1 1-1 3. Totals: 16 3-6 35

3-point FG: CWC 2 (Northcott, Black), GCHS 0; Fouls: CWC 10, GCHS 10.

GAME 19: Massac County 59, Union Co. Ky. 37

Cole Vickers had a game-high 19 points, while Noah Taylor tacked on 13 for Massac County as they moved into the fifth place title game with a 59-37 win over Union County, Ky., Saturday morning

The Braves, who had no players in double figures, were led by nine points from Marqualio King.

Massac County 11 17 15 16 - 59

Union County, Ky. 13 06 06 12 - 37

Massac County: Vickers 7 1-4 19, Taylor 3 6-6 13, Burgess 1 0-0 2, Thompson 4 1-2 9, Windhorst 1 0-0 2, Travis 2 2-2 8, Yates 2 0-04, Mitchell 1 0-0 2. Totals: 22 10-14 59.

Union County, Ky: Duncan 1 2-2 4, Thomas 1 2-2 4, Dunford 3 2-2 9, Girten 2 0-0 6, King 4 1-5 9, Steward 2 0-0 5. Totals: 13 7-11 37

3-point FG: MCHS 7 (Vickers 4, Travis 2, Taylor), UCKY 4 (Girten 2, Dunford, Steward) ; Fouls: MCHS 11, UCKY 17.

Herrin 62, Edwards County 50

Herrin 20 14 14 14 - 62

Edwards County 18 12 13 07 - 50

Herrin: Anthony 4 6-4 12, Nesler 4 0-0 12, Le Quatte 2 0-0 4, Holloway 4 0-0 10, Ringle 4 8-8 18, Towle 0 2-2 2, Stricklin 1 0-0 3, Yates 0 1-3 1. Totals: 19 15-19 62.

Edwards County: Clodfelter 3 2-2 10, Schnicker 4 3-3 12, Wallace 9 0-0 20, Schmittler 1 5-10 7. Totals: 17 10-15 50.

3-point FG: HHS 9 (Nesler 4, Holloway 2, Ringle 2), EDCO 6 (Clodfelter 3, Wallace 2, Schnicker); Fouls: HHS 13, EDCO 18.

Massac County 09 15 18 22 - 62

Carmi-White County 14 22 10 14 - 60

Massac County: Mizell 2 0-0 5, Vickers 2 0-0 5, Lee 0 2-2 2, Taylor 2 5-6 10, Burgess 1 0-0 2, Thompson 10 4-9 24, Travis 2 0-0 5, Yates 3 3-4 9. Totals: 22 14-21 62.

Carmi-White County: Lamp 2 5-7 9, Yates 2 3-5 7, Northcott 4 2-2 12, Black 7 6-8 24, Mahon 4 0-0 8. Totals: 19 16-22 60.

3-point FG: MCHS 4 (Mizell, Vickers, Taylor, Travis) CWC 6 (Black 4, Northcott 2); Fouls: MCHS 18, CWC 19.

Anna-Jonesboro 71, West Frankfort 50

Anna-Jonesboro 22 20 15 14 - 71

West Frankfort 21 12 08 14 - 55

Anna-Jonesboro: Pinnon 2 0-0 6, McGrath 2 0-0 6, Zimmerman 1 0-0 2, Parr 11 4-4 28, Sawyer 4 0-0 8, Smith 1 0-0 2, Pena 1 0-0 2, Smith 2 0-0 6, Overstreet 1 2-2 5, McFarland 2 2-2 6. Totals: 27 8-10 71.

West Frankfort: Wolfe 3 2-2 9, Johnson 3 0-0 6, Hammers 5 1-2 12, Thrash 4 0-0 9, Russell 1 0-0 2, Gaylor 1 0-0 3, Woolard 1 0-0 2, Reiger 1 0-0 2. Totals: 22 6-7 55.

3-point FG: A-J 9 (Pinnon 2, McGrath 2, Parr 2, Smith 2, Overstreet), WF 5 (Thrash 2, Wolfe, Hammers, Gaylor); Fouls: A-J 8, WF 13.