Prep Hoops: Goldman, Simerly, Scott lead Bulldogs to home finale victory

In a fitting way, Jarren Goldman, Jake Simerly and Eli Taborn-Scott led the way for Harrisburg in Friday night's win over Herrin.

The three seniors were honored prior to the start with the Tigers, then went out and scored a combined 36 points in a 62-48 victory on Senior Night.

Goldman led all scorers with 14 points, while Taborn-Scott tacked on 12. Simerly finished in double digits, putting up 10, while Corbin Crim scored 13 points.

Making their way to the stat sheet was Carson Batts with seven points off the bench, Bahari Amaya with four points and Kane Carrigan with two points.

For Randy Smithpeters, it was a nice way to send his three seniors out in style.

"It was a great night for our seniors and one thing about that is they played a great game. Eli, Jarren and Jake all stepped up and contributed in big ways. Seniors realize its the last round and I'm just really proud of their effort."

Harrisburg tied Herrin at 4-all in the early going, but went on an 8-0 run to take a 12-4 lead and close out the first quarter 18-6.

The Bulldogs never looked back, leading 32-13 at halftime and 41-29 after three periods of play.

Herrin put a pair of players in double figures as Josh Haynes led all scorers wtih 19 points, while Kameron Driemeyer tacked on 13 off the bench. Driemeyer had 11 in the second half as the Tigers outscored Harrisburg 35-30.

Savion Yarbrough and Nick Ryker each had six points for the Tigers, while Ryan Snider added two points.

Harrisburg will host this week's IHSA Class 2A Regional, which begins today (Monday) with Johnston City and Eldorado playing at 7 p.m.

On Tuesday, Benton and West Frankfort tip-off at 7 p.m. and Harrisburg will play the winner of Monday night's game Wednesday at 7 p.m.

The championship game is slated for Friday night at Davenport Gymnasium.

Herrin 6 07 16 19 - 48

Harrisburg 18 14 09 21 - 62

Herrin (48): Ryker 1 4-4 6, Haynes 7 2-2 19, Snider 0 2-2 2, Branch 1 0-0 2, Driemeyer 4 5-6 13, S. Yarbrough 3 0-1 6. Totals 16 13-15 48.

Harrisburg (62): Amaya 2 0-0 4, Goldman 7 0-4 14, Simerly 5 0-1 10, Taborn-Scott 5 2-2 12, Crim 6 1-3 13, Batts 3 0-0 7. Totals 28 3-10 62.

3-pointers: Herrin 3 (Haynes); Harrisburg 1 (Batts). Team Fouls: Herrin 17; Harrisburg 16. Fouled Out: Simerly. Records: Herrin is 10-16, 3-6 SIRR Ohio. Harrisburg is 16-10, 6-4 SIRR Ohio.