All Chalk On Day 1 of EHT

It was all chalk in the first session of the Eldorado Holiday Tournament as all the top seeds took home victories.

Carterville took care of NCOE in the opener Thursday morning, followed by Herrin beating Edwards County, West Frankfort getting past Hamilton County and Fairfield, the No. 1 seed, cruising to a win over Gallatin County.

<b>Game 1: Carterville 47, Norris City-Omaha-Enfield 44</b>

Connor Hawkins only had three points for Carterville, but it came in a pivotal spot in the contest as the Lions held off an upset-minded Norris City-Omaha-Enfield club Thursday in the opening game of the Eldorado Holiday Tournament.

Hawkins' 3-pointer from the corner pocket of famed Duff-Kingston Gymnasium gave Carterville a 43-42 lead with a little more than 2:30 minutes to play in the fourth quarter.

Carterville, the No. 5 seed in the tournament, held a two-point 10-8 lead after one quarter of play and took a 21-17 lead into the locker room.

NCOE outscored the Lions 17-13 in the third quarter to trim the deficit to one at 35-34 going into the game's final eight minutes of play.

Carterville's Eli Downen led the Lions with 16 points, while NCOE's Joe Melton led all players with 18 points.

<b>Game 2: Herrin 66, Edwards County 41</b>

Herrin's Brandon Anthony led all scorers with 19 points as the Tigers took down Edwards County 66-41 Thursday at the Eldorado Holiday Tournament.

Kaden Cowling had 17 points for Edwards County, who led 9-6 after one quarter against the No. 4 seeded Tigers and trailed only by nine at the end of the first half, 30-21.

Herrin broke the game open in the second half, outscoring the Tigers 20-7.

Herrin will now play Carterville in Friday's quarterfinals of the EHT, while Edwards County returned for the 10 p.m. elimination game against NCOE.

<b>Game 3: West Frankfort 68, Hamilton County 37</b>

West Frankfort put four players in double figures, including a game-high 15 points from Quincy King as the No. 8 seeded Redbirfds flew past Hamilton County 68-37 Thursday morning.

Josh Melvin had another 13 points for the Redbirds, while Andrew Cunningham and Isaiah Thompson each had 10 points.

Tyce Gordon had 15 points for the Foxes and was the lone Hamilton County player in double figures.

<b>Game 4: Fairfield 87, Gallatin County 42</b>

The Mules flexed their No. 1 seeded muscle to the tune of an 87-42 win over Gallatin County Thursday.

Landon Zurliene had a game-high 21 points including a half court 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter as Fairfield built an early 26-10 lead and never looked back.

The Mules also got 15 points from Kane Hixenbaugh and another 12 points from Luke Dagg down low.

Gallatin County got a 20-point effort from Dawson Hish, while Garrett Crane scored six points. Duvall finished with five points for the Hawks, while Case Rister flushed down four points. Michael Scherrer tacked on three points, while Will Henson and Jeremy Brugger each tossed in two points.

<b>Game 5: Anna-Jonesboro 66, Harrisburg 57</b>

Harrisburg, who never led in its opening round matchup against Anna-Jonesboro, made a fourth-quarter rally that came up short in a 66-57 losing effort Thursday afternoon.

A-J, the No. 7 seed, led by as many as 14 points in the first half as the Wildcats took a 34-25 lead, but the Bulldogs battled back to get within six points at 60-54 after Will Gibbs' hoop and harm.

Gibbs had a team-high 17 points, while Andrew Bittle also notched double digits, scoring 13 points for Harrisburg (0-5).

Ben Brombaugh added eight points and Darion Barners scored seven points, while Zayne Hayes finished with five, Michael Godsey had four and Javie Beal tacked on three points.

The Wildcats (4-7) got 19 points from Blake Pena, 17 points from Ta'Kevon Williford and 14 points from Zach Overstreet.

<b>Game 6: Massac County 73, Carrier Mills-Stonefort 32</b>

Colton Bets had a team-high eight points for Carrier Mills-Stonefort who fell to the No. 2 seeded Massac County Patriots 73-32 Thursday.

Deandre Moss and Mason Gilliam each scored six points for CMSF (5-6), while Zaiver Rollins finished with four points. Aidan Rollins and Caden Van Meter each tacked on three points, while Reilly Ward tossed in two points.

Zach Travis had a game-high 15 points for Massac County (10-1), while Julian Russell also finished in double figures with 12 points.

<b>Game 7: Eldorado 55, Hardin County 43</b>

Aiden Whitlock had a game-high 18 points, while Nolan Milligan also finished in double figures tossing in 14 points as Eldorado cruised to a 55-43 win over Hardin County Thursday night.

A close battle throughout saw Eldorado take advantage of rebounding on both the offensive and defensive end to hold a Hardin County team at bay.

Ladayyea Shewmaker netted nine for the Eagles (10-1), while Hunter Sizemore added eight points. Bryant Byrd finished with five and Parker Price tossed in a free throw.

Gavin Smith, of Hardin County, had a team-high 12 points, while Jake Vaughn tacked on 10 in the loss.

<b>Game 8: Carmi 52, Vienna 43</b>

Ethan Mahon had 18 points and Ty Barbre connected for 17 as Carmi-White County came back to beat Vienna 52-43 Thursday night.

The two were pivotal in the Bulldogs' rally as Barbre knocked down four 3-pointers in the second half and had 14 of his 17 points in the third and fourth quarter, while Mahon had 10 of his 18 points in the second half as well.

Vienna put three players in double figures as Skylar Blakenship scored 16 points, while Lane Ross finished with 15 points and Matthew Naese tacked on 10 points.

<b>Game 9: NCOE 50, Edwards County 25</b>

Edwards County was the first team eliminated at the EHT as the Lions fell to NCOE 50-25.

Joe Melton, CJ Richardson and Ty Money all scored in double figures for NCOE, while Edwards County put seven players in the scoring column.