12-29-14

Having won the last four events and its last 19-games (counting three victories to reach the 2014 title game) at the EHT, they were on the verge of winning their fifth championship in a row.

But as it turned out win number 20 wasn't going to be.

Highly touted and top-seed Owensboro (KY.) came riding into town and produced four-consecutive triumphs to win the prestigious championship.

Their 67-61 triumph over the Bulldogs came in front of a large crowd of over 3,000 at Duff-Kingston Gym on Monday night.

Head coach Randy Smithpeters got a stellar performance by senior Bahari Amaya in the loss.

The 6-foot-4 senior, who had been a part of the previous three title game wins, notched a game-best 30-points.

Nevertheless the invaders from Kentucky, only here for a one-year contract, walked out of the gymnasium with the first place hardware.

Head coach Rod Drake of Owensboro, who was looking for a tournament to get into, took up the Eldorado offer after Herrin left for the Carbondale Holiday Tournament last spring.

With them they brought in an outstanding club featuring 6-foot-9 senior center Aric Holman, who is rumored to be a University of Louisville recruit, and 6-foot-7 senior Justin Miller.

Miller scored 18-points in the title tilt and Holman notched 17-points in the victory.

But it was a senior guard Darion Morrow who stole the show for the 10-2 Red Devils.

This 5-foot-9 bombardier nailed four back-breaking 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 19-markers for Owensboro.

Holman led an rebounding attack with seven as his club led that category 29-17 and defensively they forced 11-turnovers, including some very costly fourth quarter mistakes as the Devils pulled away.

“We needed this (tournament) to get away. It's a two-hour trip from home. We didn't have a lot of fans here but we grew together as a team being away from home,” said Coach Rod Drake. “This trip was perfect for our team to have at this point of the season. This is a great tournament and a great atmosphere. And this was what we were looking for and this is what we got.”

Besides Amaya, Coach Smithpeters got nine points each from junior guard Patrick Bittle and junir forward Anfernee Houston in the loss for the 9-4 Bulldogs, who tasted defeat at the Eldorado Holiday Tournament for the first time since December of 2009.

“We are talking about a state-tournament caliber team from Kentucky who had a lot of talent coming back after a good season last year and we played them right down to the wire,” said Coach Smithpeters, talking about an Owensboro team that made it to the “Sweet 16” in the Kentucky one-class tournament last winter. “We were a couple of possessions away from where we want to be.”

In front of the normal outstanding crowd at the championship round of the event, the two teams didn't disappoint anyone who had a ticket for excitement.

Harrisburg proved during this contest that they belonged.

After sending away some good players to graduation, the Bulldogs (the three seed) held their own against this talented Kentucky squad.

From the opening tap til the final horn, Harrisburg was right there.

Amaya scored nine of his points in the opening quarter, a frame that featured seven lead changes.

He opened the game with his first of four 3-point bombs and teammates Houston and freshman guard Isaiah Saulsberry added long range points.

Saulsberry, a 5-foot-11 guard, nailed a 20-footer to close the first period scoring at 19-16 Harrisburg.

A 6-zip scoring charge to open the second quarter got the Red Devils back the advantage.

Dylan Sanford, a 6-foot-1 senior guard who would play a key role for Owensboro late in the game, scored on a fast break off of an outlet pass from Miller.

Holman followed that bucket with a pair of slam dunks in the halfcourt offense on assists from Miller and cohort Airius Phillips, a 5-foot-8 senior.

When Holman slammed home his second jam, Coach Smithpeters needed a timeout at 22-19 Owensboro at the 5:38 mark.

In what turned out to be an entertaining quarter, Harrisburg fought back with Amaya netting seven points in a row.

A trifecta from the top of the arc, a mid range jumper and a fast break lay in on a pass from Bittle got the Dawgs back on top 26-25.

Bittle turned out to be a key character in this championship game drama, as he committed a costly inbounds turnover after a pair of free throws made by Sanford.

But he also nailed a pair of 3-point bombs as the Owensboro defenders “slacked” off of the Bulldog junior.

His bomb found the mark from the right wing with just under a minute left in the half, cutting the Harrisburg deficit to 39-35 at intermission.

Harrisburg appeared in deep trouble when the second half began, as Owensboro hit a pair of shots in the opening minute with Holman scoring in close and Sanford nailing a 3-pointer from the left corner in front of the Red Devils bench to push the lead to 44-35, the largest by either team on the night.

Trailing 46-37 after the two teams traded baskets, Harrisburg rallied to tie the game by scoring the next nine points of the matchup.

Six-foot-two senior Carson Batts nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing to begin the surge.

Two more baskets by Amaya and a driving one-handed bank shot from the left side by freshman guard Blake Drue evened the game at 46-all.

Amaya proceeded to hit for seven additional points to close the quarter.

Yet another bomb from the right wing and a pair of drives to the basket, one from each side of the lane, got Harrisburg back the lead heading to the fourth quarter.

Holman and Miller each hit inside baskets to close out the stanza at 53-52.

The excitement of a potential fifth-consecutive championship began to brew as Houston hit a shot on a drive to the basket on a defensive mix-up by Owensboro in the first :20 of the final quarter for a 55-52 lead.

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the 6-foot-7 Miller, scored six consecutive points in a unique way.

After getting loose for a drive down the baseline, he made a steal near midcourt and was on his way for an easy basket when he was fouled by Bittle.

Grabbing him from behind by the jersey in clear view, Bittle was whistled for an intentional foul.

Miller calmly made both free throws as the Red Devils retained possession.

Moments later, Miller scored in the lane off a pass from teammate Holman on a “high-low” pass for a 58-55 lead with 6:40 remaining.

Bittle nailed a 3-pointer from the left corner to even the scored at 58-all at 5:30 left.

That was the final tie of the game as Owensboro pulled away for the championship.

Morrow found himself opened from the left corner in transition and, instead of stopping and finding Miller or Holman underneath, he launched a dagger from beyond the arc that found the bottom of the net for a 61-58 lead.

Harrisburg had chances to get back into the game, but Holman and Miller each came up big defensively in the final minutes.

Miller blocked a shot by Amaya on a drive to the basket which turned into Harrisburg being forced to foul Owensboro.

With fouls to give, it took the Bulldogs three possessions to get the Red Devils to the line.

Owensboro polished off Harrisburg from the foul line by hitting six-consecutive shots.

Amaya hit for one final shot, a 20-footer from the right wing as Harrisburg got a timeout with just :07.7 left.

Another foul sent Morrow back to the line and the senior guard finished the scoring with two more made charities as the Red Devils celebrated a championship victory.

“We had some people step up off the bench tonight,” added Coach Smithpeters. “It is a game that also will make us better and that is what we want to do at this point.”

Coach Smithpeters and Co. won't have a lot of time to lament their loss as they will head back to action to host Benton in an SIRR Ohio Division battle.

The Bulldogs lost to the Rangers on December 6, 48-46 at the Goreville Invitational.

“I'm very proud of our effort and I think we got better this week. That is a really, really good team we just played. And it isn't a victory but it feels like one because a lot of people believed we would get killed (figuratively) by a team this good but we were right there with them. I'm very proud of the kids,” said Coach Smithpeters.

NORRIS CITY-OMAHA-ENFIELD 62, HARDIN COUNTY 44
The Fighting Cardinals, who were seeded 15th in this event, rallied after the first day and a loss to Massac County with three consecutive wins and the consolation championship of the 50th annual tournament.

It is fitting that the team that won this tournament in its inception (1965) would nab a trophy in the bicentennial event.

Chase Sutton, a 6-foot junior, led the way for the Cardinals as they improved to 7-7 on the season with a 3-1 showing at the EHT.

Sutton led all scorers with 23-points and senior forward Kyle Sell added 10-points for Coach Bryon Gravin and his team.

Nine points apiece came from Blake Karnes and Dakota Bond.

NCOE took advantage of 16-turnovers by Hardin County as they broke open a close game with a big second quarter to lead 30-20 at halftime.

Hardin County saw its mark slip to 10-4 overall, despite 20-points from BJ Austin and 10-points from 6-foot-2 sophomore Austin Seavers.

Austin and Seavers combined for eight of the ten points for the Cougars early but the club came unraveled in the second quarter as the Cardinals took control to top Hardin County for the second time this season.

Trailing just 11-10 at the end of one quarter, Hardin County committed 10-turnovers in the first half and four coming during an 11-2 run by NCOE.

Sutton and Sell got the bulk of the points in the move, with Sutton hitting a pair of 3-pointers and Sell scoring twice in the lane for a 22-13 lead for the Fighting Cardinals.

Sutton ended up with 10-points in the quarter as NCOE led by ten at the break.

“We (us and Hardin County) beat out two black diamond teams to get here (Carmi-White County, Hamilton County) and I don't think people give our conference enough credit,” said Coach Graven. “We played hard and very well to get here. Our kids have bought into what we are trying to do and we break games down into four minute games and we try to win each of those games. We came out in the second half like it was 0-0 and the kids put the gas pedal to the metal.”

Karnes and Sutton scored points early in the third quarter and back-to-back shots by Sutton and Bond gave the Cardinals a 41-26 lead.

Two buckets by Austin for the Cougars to begin the final quarter closed the gap to just 45-37 with 6:28 left.

However NCOE slammed the door shut with a two baskets by Nate Glad and six-consecutive free throws in the final 1:42 to win the consolation championship.

NCOE ended up 23-of-48 from the floor (47.9 percent) and hit 5-of-9 from beyond the 3-point arc.

The Cougars shot just 18-of-43 overall (41.8 percent) and were 4-of-14 from downtown.

Coach Rodney Lane's club finished even with the Cardinals in rebounding (23-each) but couldn't overcome a turnover plagued afternoon.

“I don't know how many turnovers we had in the first quarter and the first half, I know it was a lot,” said Coach Lane. “We just quit playing hard and it showed. “We can't play like that and expect to win.”