Junior Bulldogs capture regional title

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Of Eli Scott's game-high 26 points, none were more important than his final two.

A furious fourth quarter rally by Marion turned what was once a comfortable 47-36 advantage into a narrow 51-49 lead for the Harrisburg Middle School boys eighth grade team. Scott went to the free-throw line, having missed his previous three attempts, and calmly hit a pair at the stripe to seal the Wildcats' fate as the Bulldogs earned a 53-49 win.

Head coach Kevin Dowdy said the team's early defensive effort helped spark the victory.

"We came out in a triangle-two and kind of threw them off and messed their offense up and gave us the confidence to take a lead," Dowdy said. "That's all the boys needed was some confidence because sometimes they get a mental block against Marion."

The Bulldogs had lost their prior three meetings against the Wildcats before Saturday morning's regional game.

Daniel Lewis added 10 points and Zach Smith chipped in with eight as Harrisburg advances to the next round of play at Rend Lake College as it looks to take its second straight Class L state title.

Box Score

HBG 7 17 13 16-53

MAR 8 7 17 17-49

Harrisburg (53): Lewis 4 1-2 10, Davis 2 0-0 4, Scott 12 2-5 26, Smith 3 1-2 8, Street 0 3-7 3, Batts 1 0-0 2. Totals: 22 7-16 53.

Marion (49): Carter 1 1-2 3, Hill 8 1-2 23, Reeves 1 0-0 2, Nuerenberger 5 1-3 11, Cash 2 2-4 6, Blye 1 0-0 2, Bingman 1 0-0 2. Totals: 19 5-11 49.