EHT: Gallatin County stuns Massac County; Herrin coasts by CMSF

The mystique that makes March Madness one of the best tournaments in all of sports is the upset.

On Monday at the Eldorado Holiday Tournament, Gallatin County played the role of Cinderella.

Fueled by a 24-point effort from Mr. Do-Everything Seth Ramsey, the Hawks played No. 7 seed Massac County 45-43 at Duff-Kingston Gymnasium.

"We're not very big, but our hearts are huge," said Gallatin County head coach Doug Miller. "We started off really well and I kept telling our guys, the storm is going to come, it's a Joe Hosman coached team and they never quit. But we never quit and just kept playing hard. Even in the peaks and valleys, when we were down by 10, the kids never gave up. I'm very proud of this bunch and the thing about it is, the kids are better people than they are basketball players. They're all going to be successful in life."

Gallatin County opened the game with a 16-9 lead and both teams went into the locker room tied at 23.

Massac County flexed its muscle in the third and looked to put their foot on the gas as Darion Roundtree helped out the Patriots with a buzzer beating 3-pointer as MCHS led 34-24.

Rounder also had 24 points for the Patriots in the loss.

Miller said he learned some lessons early in the season, more notably when they last played Eldorado, noting that the reason his team fell short in that loss (41-40) was his decision to not press more.

He didn't make the same mistake Monday. In addition to putting Ramsey on Isaiah Thomspson, who Miller calls his best box-out defender.

"I'm very proud of our defense and our effort," Miller said.

As far as it being the biggest win of Miller's career, he said it ranks right up there.

"Any time you beat a Joe Hosman coached team, I'd say yes."

Gallatin County 16 07 01 21 - 45

Massac County 09 14 11 09 - 43

Gallatin County: Ramsey 8 6-9 24, Goebel 3 4-6 10, Prince 3 2-3 11, Walters 0 0-0 0, Rubio 0 0-0 0, Duvall 0 0-0 0, Wargel 0 0-0 0, Hish 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14 12-18 45.

Massac County: Miller 1 1-5 3, Duckworth 0 0-0 0, Roundtree 11 0-0 24, Taylor 3 0-2 7, Burgess 0 0-0 0, Thompson 3 3-6 9, Patterson 0 0-0 0, Mitchell 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 4-13 43

3-point FG: Gallatin County 5 (Prince 3, Ramsey 2, Massac County 3 (Roundtree 2, Taylor). Fouls: Gallatin County 14, Massac County 17.

Herrin 59, Carrier Mills-Stonefort 31

Herrin led wire-to-wire in a 59-31 opening round win over Carrier Mills-Stonefort at the 52nd annual Eldorado Holiday Tournament Monday morning.

"It's always difficult to play at 10 o'clock in the morning," said Herrin coach Mike Mooneyham. "We hadn't practiced in a couple days and we did a few things, but we weren't as sharp as we could be."

The Tigers (6-2) nailed 10 treys in the contest, including five from junior Bronson Nesler who scored 18 points. Sophomore Drew Ringle also finished in double figures with 13 points.

Senior Justice Hill led the way for the Wildcats (4-8) with 10 points, including eight in the second half. Senior Brody Walker scored six for Carrier Mills while freshman Will Gibbs added five.

Herrin will meet No. 8 seed Anna-Jonesboro in a quarterfinal matchup Tuesday afternoon.

Carrier Mills-Stonefort 02 11 14 04 - 31

Herrin 19 15 15 10 - 59

CMSF (31): Gibbs 1 3-4 5, Walker 2 2-2 6, Hill 4 2-4 10, Austin 0 0-2 0, R. Lewis 0 2-2 2, B. Lewis 0 2-2 2, Barners 1 0-2 2, Shaw 0 0-1 0, Lollis 2 0-2 4. Totals 10 11-21 31.

Herrin (59): Hartline 1 0-0 3, Nesler 6 1-2 18, Ringel 4 4-4 13, Spell 3 0-0 6, J. Downen 2 0-0 4, Busch 3 0-0 9, T. Downen 1 0-0 2, Stucker 1 0-0 2, Vaughn 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 5-6 59.

3-pointers: CMSF 0, Herrin 10 (Nesler 5, Busch 3, Hartline, Ringel). Team Fouls: CMSF 9, Herrin 18. Technicals: Spell. Records: Carrier Mills is 4-8, Herrin is 6-2.