Prep Hoops: Tigers trip up Harrisburg
It was a career night for Herrin senior guard Savion Yarbrough and it was a night the Tigers did more than just beat Harrisburg 82-70.
The win for the Tigers was their first since 2011 and snapped a eight-game losing streak to the Bulldogs.
On the flip side, Harrisburg came into the game a little wounded as Jordan Bartok was still recovering from an ankle injury that sidelined him for last week's games against Murphysboro and Eldorado and Patrick Bittle didn't practice much of the week due to illness, however, the Bulldogs did get back returning starter and senior Anfernee Houston who has been sidelined with a broken foot injury.
Still, the Bulldogs are in the midst of a five-game losing streak and much like their most recent loss to Eldorado, a lack of inside presence cost Harrisburg Friday.
Without Bartok, the Herrin tandem of D.J. Spell and Jake Downen, both 6-foot-3 juniors, had a pair of 18-point performances to go along with Yarbrough for the Tigers' Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference Ohio victory.
Harrisburg led 22-21 after one period of play, but trailed 41-35 at the break. To start the third quarter, the Tigers got out to a 8-0 run capped off by a Spell slam at 5:06 to give Herrin a 49-35 lead to start the second half.
"We wanted to keep our distance, but we also wanted to come out at halftime and not give up anything easy," Herrin head coach Irv Lukens said. "A couple of times we missed some shots and turned the ball over, but we bounced back, got some big buckets and got some stops.
"I just thought we came out and played hard for 32 minutes and really played under control and really shared the basketball. I liked our effort, how we moved the basketball and how all the people contributed."
Harrisburg had 19 turnovers in the game, 10 of which came in the first half, while Herrin committed 17 miscues and both teams were equal in the rebounding category at 25.
The Bulldogs shot 23-for-48 from the field and 6-of-18 from beyond the arc, while going 18-for-23 from the foul line.
Herrin finished 28-for-46 from the floor and made 1-of-8 3-point tries, while going 24-for-35 from the line and 18-for-28 in the fourth quarter.
For Harrisburg head coach Randy Smithpeters, the game hinged on the defensive end, which he said has been an achilles heel of his team more times than not this season.
"We have to learn to not make mistakes, we have to learn to defend better. I thought their penetration was a huge part of tonights game. We didn't get one charge all night and that's example of things we have to correct. We made a point of it, but its something we have to execute on game night. I think turnovers became a problem and I thought our decision making down the stretch was poor. We have to realize what the situation is. We cut the lead to six a couple of times, they miss a free throw, they get the rebound, put it back and score and now you're down eight. Then on the next trip we don't score, they do and we're down by 10 again. You just have to realize those situations and know we have to have that rebound and we have to score this trip. We still miss a lot of shots we need to make and that's something we're going to work on, but it's January the 15th and not a tremendous time to get better and we have to get better quick."
Yarbrough was 9-of-12 from the field and 6-of-12 at the line for 25 points and finished with a tip of the hat from Lukens.
"He had a career-game tonight, hopefully that gives him confidence," Lukens said. "We've been stressing about him being more assertive and driving to the hole and creating something, not only for himself, but others and I thought he did that tonight."
Harrisburg got a team-high 19 points from Isaiah Saulsberry, who was 5-for-10 from the field and 6-of-6 at the line, while Blake Drue and Bittle each finished with 11 points a piece. Noah Ferrell also finished in double figures with 10 points for Harrisburg.
Michael Dann covers prep and college sports for the Harrisburg Daily Register. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.
Harrisburg 22 13 08 27 - 70
Herrin 21 20 15 24 - 82
Harrisburg: Bittle 2-9 7-9 11, Drue 5-7 0-0 11, Gould 1-1 0-0 2, Smith 3-6 0-0 7, Saulsberry 5-10 6-6 19, Houston 1-5 4-6 6, Bartok 1-1 0-0 2, Ferrell 4-7 1-2 10, Hefner 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 23-48 18-23 70.
Herrin: Yarbrough 9-12 6-12 25, Nesler 0-2 0-0 0, Spell 7-11 3-7 18, J. Downen 8-14 2-3 18, T. Downen 2-2 1-2 5, Hartline 0-2 4-4 4, Bush 1-4 7-8 10, Salmo 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 28-46 24-35 82.
3-point FG: HHS 2-9 (Yarbrough 1-1, Bush 1-2, Spell 0-1, Hardline 0-2, Salmo 0-1), HBG 6-18 (Drue 1-1, Smith 1-3, Saulsberry 3-4, Ferrell 1-3, Bittle 0-6, Houston 0-1). Rebounds: HHS 25, HBG 25. Fouls: HHS 20, HBG 26.