03-05-13
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE – The Harrisburg Bulldogs, from the time they stepped off of the SIU Arena floor from last season's crushing defeat at the hands of eventual state-champion Breese Central on March 7, 2012, had one goal in mind.

To win a state championship.

Harrisburg took its season one rung higher than last year with a win over Teutopolis on Tuesday night, capturing the Carbondale 2A Supersectional with a 77-66 triumph.

Coach Randy Smithpeters' team proved to be too much on this night, gradually pulling away from T-town in the second half and keeping the Wooden Shoes from making any runs to mount a comeback.

Behind the scoring of Tyler Smithpeters (25-points) and Eli Taborn-Scott (21-points) the Bulldogs improved to a stellar 31-1 record and a spot in the state's Final Four.

“What difference a year makes. Last year we were in the dressing room with our heads down. This group has matured and worked very hard. They deserve this. I'm happy for them. I'm happy for our community and everyone in our program and our school,” said Coach Smithpeters. “This is what you dream of. We've been here, perhaps that was a factor. It was a matter of playing the game.”

Teutopolis, for the third year in a row, made it to the Elite Eight but could go no further as its splendid campaign ended at 28-4.

The normally stingy defensive laden Teutopolis club surrendered its most points of the season as Harrisburg put together a strong offensive showing, breaking away from the opposition with a big first half.

Smithpeters scored 13 of his points in the opening two quarters while Taborn-Scott added ten first half points.

The staple of this Bulldogs' season has been their ability to drive to the basket and produce points, either scoring on shots in the lane of converting from the foul line.

On Tuesday night, Harrisburg did both as they head to Peoria to face the winner of the Riverton/St. Joseph-Ogden contest that was postponed from Tuesday night at the 2A Springfield Supersectional.

Harrisburg's Capel Henshaw, not to be outdone, added 17-points for the Bulldogs and he helped get his team in control with his own personal 7-0 run.

Nailing a 3-pointer from the left corner after grabbing an offensive rebound, Henshaw then scored twice more.

He took a pass from Smithpeters for a fast break score and then his drive to the basket with 3:48 left gave the Dawgs a 30-22 advantage in the second quarter.

A pair of baskets by Smithpeters sandwiched around another Henshaw rebound bucket gave Harrisburg its biggest lead of the first half at 39-26.

“We felt like one of the best things that they do is their transition game. They (Harrisburg) really push the ball down the floor,” said Coach Fehrenbacher. “They have so many weapons.”

To the T-Town credit, the Wooden Shoes made runs at Harrisburg.

However none of them went unanswered.

Teutopolis got to within ten points twice in the third quarter, only to see the Bulldogs hold them off with moves of their own.

Harrisburg went to the break with a 41-30 advantage .

“We came into halftime with a bit of a lead and we wanted to build on it in the third quarter and we did,” added Coach Smithpeters. “I'm happy with the 32-minutes.”

Back-to-back baskets by T-Town senior forward Kyle Pruemer cut the Shoes' deficit to just 45-35 early in the third quarter.

Harrisburg, as it did the entire contest, responded.

The Bulldogs biggest lead of the supersectional came when senior guard Ryne Roper scored twice in the lane and reserve forward Snjolfur Bjornsson added a fast break lay up as Harrisburg led 61-44.

Teutopolis had one final chance to get back into the contest, but it didn't make enough shots when the opportunity arose.

Trailing just 66-55 following a conventional three point play by senior guard Derek Smith, T-Town's Devin Falbe missed the front end of a 1-and-bonus and an open look from reserved Reed Hardiek on a set play for a 3-point look misfired.

Had the Shoes made those shots, the deficit would have been cut to below double-figures in the final four minutes.

Harrisburg didn't let T-Town have another crack.

The Bulldogs have made their living on the foul line this season and they polished the Shoes by hitting 9-of-12 free throws in the last 1:46.

Although both teams shot the ball well from the floor, the free throw advantage separated the two teams in the end.

Coach Smithpeters saw his team hit 19-of-31 foul shot attempts, compared to just 9-of-17 from Teutopolis.

Harrisburg connected on 27-of-44 shots overall with Smithpeters hitting 8-of-12 overall.

Taborn-Scott had Las Vegas numbers going on as he rolled in 7-of-11 attempts.

Behind Smithpeters, Taborn-Scott and Henshaw, reserve Bahari Amaya once again sparked the Bulldogs, coming off the bench to add five points.

Teutopolis saw its seniors take a final bow with Jared Waldhoff scoring 17-points while Smith added 16.

Pruemer closed his career with 13-points and 13-rebounds for the Wooden Shoes.

Another senior Falbe added seven points as this group was part of 110-wins in the last four seasons for this outstanding program.

T-Town hit 27-of-56 from the floor, the exact number of field goals that Harrisburg made with just two additional attempts.

“To be honest we got whatever we wanted (offensive looks at the basket) but we just couldn't make shots,” added Coach Fehrenbacher. “And we weren't getting stops in the first half. I thought we did a better job in the second half but when you dig yourself a deep hole like that it is awful tough to come back.”

Harrisburg, behind Henshaw's nine rebounds, held a slight 32-29 edge on the glass.

“We knew it would be a tough T-Town team. They're tough at both ends of the floor. We didn't get our traditional start but we played through some things and got a bit of a lead,” said Coach Smithpeters. “I thought we defended well down the stretch. We gave up some baskets on run-outs in the first half and some baseline drives.”

Harrisburg (77) – Taborn-Scott 7 0 7-8 21, Upchurch 1 0 0-1 2, Smithpeters 6 2 7-13 25, Henshaw 5 1 4-4 17, Roper 2 0 0-1 4, Amaya 1 1 0-0 5, Bjornsson 1 0 1-4 3.
2FG-23, 3FG-4, FT-19-31, PF-16.
Teutopolis (66) – Mette 1 0 1-4 3, Pruemer 6 0 1-2 13, Smith 6 0 4-5 16, Waldhoff 6 1 2-4 17, Will 0 1 0-0 3, Ungrund 0 0 0-0 0, Windell 0 0 0-0 0, Hardiek 1 1 0-0 5, Falbe 3 0 1-2 7, Kenter 0 0 0-0 0, Niemerg 0 0 0-0 0, Schultz 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-24, 3FG-3, FT-9-17, PF-22.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.