EHT: Survive & Advance
Harrisburg was able to secure a 56-53 opening round win over Hamilton County at the Eldorado Holiday Tournament Monday afternoon, but it didn't come without some tense moments for the Bulldogs and their fans.
At one point, the Bulldogs had built a 13-point second half edge only to see the pesky Foxes rally to tie up the contest later in the half.
"They have played some good people and have had leads, they just have had a hard time finishing, so I expected a very hard game," said Harrisburg coach Randy Smithpeters. "It's also tough when you have to play the style that they play because they are going to come down and be very patient. They're not going to take bad shots. We have to adjust to that and not make mistakes. It's where we would tailspin when we were up 11, and we come down and lost that philosophy for about three trips, and then it goes from 11 to 5."
Trailing 54-51 in the final seconds, Hamilton County had possession and an opportunity to tie but committed a turnover.
Isaiah Saulsberry scored 15 of his club's first 21 points and finished with 24 for the game.
Harrisburg forward Jordan Bartok scored nine of his 11 points in the fourth quarter to help secure the win.
"I was glad to finish the way we finished," said Smithpeters. "I thought we made some good decisions down the stretch and hit some big shots. I think a big pat on the back has to go to Jordan Bartok for the big plays he made at some really big times."
The Bulldogs (4-4) finished 15-of-25 from the charity stripe, but missed seven of their first eight foul shot attempts to start the fourth quarter.
Senior Oakley Dial scored a game-high 28 points for the Foxes (2-8).
"We battled back and gave them lots of opportunities to extend the lead, and then we would battle back," said Hamilton County coach Jeremy Varner. "I'm very proud of our guys not quiting and continuing to play. We have got to do a better job of limiting our turnovers and take advantage of times when we can tie or go ahead, and I don't think we did a very good job of that today."
Hamilton County will take on West Frankfort in a consolation quarterfinal Tuesday at 8:30 a.m.
Hamilton County 08 14 10 21 - 53
Harrisburg 17 10 12 17 - 56
Hamilton County (53): N. Rapp 0 0-0 0, Whipple 2 0-0 4, Dial 11 3-3 28, E. Rapp 2 0-0 4, Rubenacker 4 1-1 9, Van Abbema 2 0-0 5, Miller 1 1-2 3. Totals 22 5-6 53.
Harrisburg (56): Saulsberry 6 9-11 24, Gould 3 2-4 8, Smith 1 1-3 3, Ferrell 1 0-0 3, Bartok 5 1-5 11, Burtis 2 0-0 5, Morris 0 2-2 2. Totals 18 15-25 56.
3-pointers: Hamilton County 4 (Dial 3, Van Abbema), Harrisburg 5 (Saulsberry 3, Ferrell, Burtis). Team Fouls: Hamilton County 22, Harrisburg 11. Fouled out: N. Rapp. Records: Hamilton County is 2-8, Harrisburg is 4-4.