12/09/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
HERRIN - The Herrin Tigers needed big plays late in their SIRR Ohio Division against Benton on Friday night.

Head coach Sayler Shurtz and his club were holding on to a lead when senior Reese Billingsley and junior Jonathan Harrison came to the rescue.

Billingsley came up with a big steal and Harrison battled for a pair of offensive rebounds off of missed Herrin free throws to finally secure a 47-46 win in the division opener between the two programs.

The Tigers, after winning the DuQuoin Tip-Off Classic last week, are now 6-0 on the season and 1-0 in the Ohio.

Five-eleven sophomore guard Kyrese Lukens led the way with 17 points, which included 8-of-8 from the foul line.

Lukens hit two free throws with 6:03 left to give Herrin back the lead for good as Coach Shurtz's club survived five fourth quarter turnovers.

“We got stagnant at times but Kyrese and Haydon hit some shots for us but some little things that might not beat you tonight but if you don't take care of them if might beat you in the future,” said Coach Shurtz. “We missed a couple of front ends of 1-and-1's but we secured the rebounds and got it back out. It was kind of an ugly win but the Rangers played hard. It's going to be a battle and no one is going to run away with this (division title). The Ohio is always competitive.”

Benton, after rolling through the Goreville Invitational Tournament last week to begin their season, fell to 5-1 overall and 0-1 in the division.

Head coach Ron Winemiller's club rallied from 14 points down in the first half to make the game exciting at the end.

Junior guard Isaac Billington led the Rangers with 14 points.

Luke Melvin, a 6-1 junior, added 10 points while senior Lukas Wilson and 6-7 sophomore Docker Tedeschi added eight points each.

“We did a much better job of keeping the ball in front of us in the second half. We didn't just let them have 'walk up' 3's and offensively we were able to get the kind of match ups we needed from time to time,” said Coach Winemiller. “This (game) was good for us. Tonight we proved something. We showed that we have a pretty good team. If we guard like that we will have a chance to be in a lot of games.”

Herrin senior forward Haydon Mayer netted 11 for the Tigers in the win.

The Tigers struck early with buckets by Mayer (driving lay in), a 3-pointer by Lukens and a back door cut by Billingsley on a pass from Mayer for a 7-2 advantage.

Harrison added a bucket in the lane and Lukens hit three consecutive free throws after being fouled attempting a shot from beyond the arc.

Billington scored six of his points in the first quarter and senior guard Landon Croslin added four of his six total points as the Rangers trailed 19-10 at the end of one.

A 9-2 run by the hosts to begin the second quarter gave the impression that Herrin might make quick work of the Rangers.

Mayer scored inside on a pass from Lukens and senior guard Taylor Brandon nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing to trigger the run.

A pair of free throws from Lukens and a rebound put-back by senior Fox Connor gave the Tigers their biggest advantage at 28-14 with 3:22 remaining in the half.

As it turned out, the Rangers had a rally in them.

Tedeschi drove the baseline for a two-handed dunk and he added a pair of free throws to close the half at 28-18 Tigers.

The Rangers forced Herrin into a rough stretch in the third quarter to climb back into the contest.

The Tigers were just 3-of-8 from the floor and committed three turnovers while Benton closed the third quarter with a 10-2 run.

Billington (1) and Wilson (2) added scores in the run while Luke Melvin and Wilson combined for four consecutive free throws made.

The Wilson tosses with :34.2 remaining made it 37-36 Tigers heading to the fourth quarter.

“I thought we came out with really good energy, we were running in transition and getting some easy buckets and I thought defensively we played well in the first half,” said Coach Shurtz. “But our second half was very sluggish. Against a team that is patient and meticulous like Benton that takes smart shots we can't let them back in the game.”

Tedeschi opened the third quarter by giving Benton its first lead of the night.

Taking an pass from Wilson, the sophomore threw down another two-handed dunk for a 38-37 lead.

Lukens responded with a nice drive to the basket for a score while being fouled.

The three-point play gave Herrin back the lead.

Wilson scored on a rebound bucket to tie the score for the final time.

Lukens hit two free throws and scored on another drive.

The Billingsley steal and the two Harrison rebounds helped secure the important win in what looks like will be a battle for the Ohio Division title.

One stat that stood out in the final totals that went against the Benton hopes of a road win.

The Rangers missed all 10 of their 3-point attempts and finished 19-of-44 from the floor.

Herrin was slightly better with a 17-of-39 performance overall and 4-of-13 from the arc.

Lukens, Brandon, Mayer and reserve guard Exavier Williams hit 3-pointers for Coach Shurtz's unbeaten club.

The Tigers won the rebounding battle 25-17 with five of their seven offensive rebounds coming in the fourth quarter when they needed them.

The Rangers hop right back into action with a game against Mount Carmel on Saturday at home while Herrin hosts 3A Carbondale.

“It's an Ohio Division game. I think our conference is so deep and it is going to be like this (battle) most nights,” said Coach Winemiller. “It's going to come down to a possession here and there. I was proud of the guys. We got down 10 or 12 but the guys just kept guarding and competing. We were able to battle back into the game. This division had four teams coming into tonight (including Massac County and Murphysboro) won Thanksgiving and post-Thanksgiving tournaments. It will make us battle tested. We want to stay healthy and continue to get better.”

Benton (46) – N. Melvin 0 0 0-0 0, Billington 7 0 0-1 14, Croslin 3 0 0-0 6, L. Melvin 3 0 4-4 10, Munoz 0 0 0-0 0, Wilson 3 0 2-2 8, Tedeschi 3 0 2-2 8.
2FG-19, 3FG-0, FT-8-9, PF-11.
Herrin (47) – R. Billingsley 1 0 1-2 3, Williams 1 1 0-0 5, Lukens 3 1 8-8 17, Harrison 2 0 0-2 4, Mayer 4 1 0-1 11, Brandon 1 1 0-0 5, M. Billingsly 0 0 0-0 0, Cole 0 0 0-0 0, Connor 1 0 0-0 2.
2FG-13, 3FG-4, FT-9-13, PF-10.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.

Murphysboro (47) – Abernathy 7 0 10-14 24, Brooks 3 0 2-2 8, Shields 1 0 2-2 4, Hale 2 0 1-5 5, Boese 0 1 0-0 3, Horstman 0 0 0-0 0, Guthman 0 1 0-0 3, Fager 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-13, 3FG-2, FT-15-23, PF-13.
Massac County (43) – Harmon 1 1 0-1 5, Smallman 2 1 1-1 8, Hosman 3 1 3-5 12, Cissell 2 1 2-5 9, Higgerson 4 0 1-2 9, Garnett 0 0 0-0 0, Box 0 0 0-0 0, Turner 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-12, 3FG-4, FT-7-14, PF-19.
Fouled Out – Cissell - Massac County.
Technical Fouls – None.