Prep Boys' Hoops: Harrisburg holds off Herrin to stay in conference drivers seat
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ A furious first quarter start fueled Harrisburg to a 68-57 victory over Herrin Friday night at Davenport Gymnasium.
The Bulldogs (22-5, 7-1) took a 27-8 first period lead and then held off the Tigers down the stretch, despite being outscored in the second and third quarters.
Herrin got to within eight at 58-50 in the fourth quarter with 3:28 to play after a pair of free throws by Justin Lukens, but the Bulldogs made good at the free throw line as 5-of-6 to take a 63-50 lead and Tyler Smithpeters was a near perfect 13-of-14 in the final eight minutes to lead Harrisburg in scoring with a game-high 23 points.
"We're really happy with the 32 minutes and maybe the most 32 complete minutes we have had all season long," Harrisburg head coach Randy Smithpeters said. "When you're two or three games from the end of the season, that is exactly where you want to be. We talked about how this was our 27th game of the year and how there are some things that we should be doing well and I felt like we did tonight.
Harrisburg has a one-game conference lead with two games to play with games remaining against Franklin County foes West Frankfort (Saturday) and Benton (next Friday).
"We knew a win tonight would put us in the drivers seat and we've always wanted to stay in the conference race where we determine our own destiny. We were happy with the start (tonight). We defended really well and rebounded well.
"I thought our rebounding was huge tonight. In some games on the past against strong teams we have had problems keeping them off the boards and that was a focus tonight and I thought we did a great job."
Harrisburg held the advantage on the glass, outrebounding Herrin 23-19 and did even more damage on defense, forcing the Tigers into 22 miscues," Smithpeters said.
Rounding out the scoring for Harrisburg was another 13 points from Capel Henshaw. Henshaw also led the Bulldogs in rebounding with nine.
Eli Taborn-Scott tacked on 10 points, while Kashmere Barners scored seven. Ryne Roper finished with three points and Dakota Upchurch scored two points.
Bobbie Mannie led Herrin with 23 points, while Justin Lukens added another 20 for the Tigers. Nathan Lukens and DeMarlo Harris each had five points, while Antuan Davis finished with four points.
Herrin outscored Harrisburg 13-12 in the second quarter and held Harrisburg scoreless from the field until the 3:06 mark when Henshaw provided a bucket that helped Harrisburg take a 39-22 lead into the locker room.
The Tigers got out to a 6-0 run to start the third quarter, but a Barners three-pointer allowed Harrisburg to close out the third quarter up 52-40, despite being outscored 18-13.
The Bulldogs had no field goals in the fourth quarter, but did go 14-of-22 from the free throw line to seal the deal.