02/08/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
MURPHYSBORO - It was fitting that the game between Murphysboro and Herrin would come down to a final possession.

As neither team could do much offensively on the night, it took a big offensive set and big time last second shot to separate the teams at the end.

The host Red Devils and head coach Daryl Murphy had the ball after a timeout with 1:38 remaining tied at 24-all.

Although they would have taken something easy early on in the possession, it was clear that Murphysboro was going to make sure that they got the final shot.

Working the ball around the floor, making 20 passes in that time frame, the Red Devils were looking for an opening.

They got one with just seconds remaining.

Sophomore guard Karmelo Abernathy drove towards the basket and when the Tigers' defense moved in to help out, Abernathy found teammate AJ Walker open for a short shot near the basket.

His attempt banked home with just :02.3 left on the clock, giving his club a hard-earned, football like 26-24 win.

Pass number 21 in the sequence resulted in a game-winning assist for Murphysboro.

Herrin had a last chance after taking a timeout but after an additional Murphysboro timeout, Red Devils' senior guard Tyreek Feggins intercepted a long pass to seal the victory for the now 22-2, 6-1 club.

The victory puts Murphysboro all alone on the top of the Ohio Division standings.

“We were going to take the last shot. We were trying to delay the clock and we tried to run some motion cuts and we weren't getting anything. We were trying to be too safe with the ball. We were trying to get a layup on them if we could. We thought our match up was right on our dribble drive. They (Herrin) helped over and AJ slipped in and got it. A little turnaround jumper,” said Coach Murphy.

Abernathy led the Red Devils with nine-points while senior play-maker Calvon Clemons added seven.

But it was Walker with a big shot at the end to finish with eight-points on the night that made the difference.

Herrin and head coach Sayler Shurtz fell behind with a really bad second quarter but rallied to force two tie scores in the final three minutes only to see their loss drop them to 17-6 overall and now 5-2 in the Ohio, one full game behind Murphysboro.

The Tigers, after taking an 8-7 first quarter lead, missed 11 consecutive field goal attempts and were outscored 9-1 in the period to trail 16-9 at the break.

Junior forward Haydon Mayer scored a game-high 13-points for Herrin and he helped get the Tigers going in the second half with 10 of his points coming after halftime.

He was part of a 7-0 run in the third quarter that evened things at 18-18 heading to the fourth.

“Points were hard to come by. Us being down seven at halftime and for our guys to respond. They (Murphysboro) had every opportunity to win that game and we made it as tough as we could,” said Coach Shurtz. “You look up and it's 26-24. It's probably the most physical game we've played all year. Great atmosphere, though. That's what you want when you have a conference championship on the line. I'm proud of these guys. They battled.”

Sophomore guard Exavier Williams added five-points for Herrin and freshman guard Kyrese Lukens only hit one shot on the night, but it turned out to be crucial late.

Lukens tied the game in the fourth quarter with a long 3-pointer from the left wing, and following a pair of free throws by Clemons, Mayer snagged a rebound for a put back to even things for the final time at 24-24.

Herrin had three leads early, one on a 3-pointer from Mayer and later on a 3-pointer by Williams for a 6-5 spread.

Sophomore center Jonathan Harrison scored on a rebound basket just before the first quarter horn for his only points as the Tigers were up one.

However it all came down to the offensive execution on the final play in a game that didn't have a lot of success in that category.

“What a hard game to score points tonight. Both teams good shots were hard to come by. Both teams did a great job getting back defensively. We like to try and push the ball and we couldn't hardly get anything. We were getting good stops and they (Herrin) were beyond patient with the ball,” said Coach Murphy.

The numbers represented the defensive domination by both squads.

Murphysboro ended up 10-of-31 overall, 1-of-7 from the 3-point line in the contest while Herrin ended up 8-of-30 with 3-of-12 from long range.

The rebounding ended up even at 22-22 while the Red Devils took care of the ball a bit better, committing just eight turnovers compared to 11 by Herrin.

Each team coughed up four turnovers in the final frame.

Both Herrin and Murphysboro have work to do in the division before the things get serious in the state tournament.

The Red Devils have games against at West Frankfort, home against Harrisburg and finish at Benton.

The Tigers have to travel to Massac County, then host West Frankfort before closing at Harrisburg.

“We covet those things (conference titles) especially in the River-to-River. We still have work to do. We have a one game lead and that's pretty good,” said Coach Murphy. “It was a tough game but defense is where its at. To hold a team that good to 24-points; you're going to win some games.”

Herrin (24) – Chrostowski 0 0 0-0 0, Williams 1 1 0-0 5, Lukens 0 1 0-0 3, Harrison 1 0 0-0 2, Mayer 3 1 4-5 13, Billingsley 0 0 0-0 0, Conner 0 0 1-2 1. 2FG-5, 3FG-3, FT-5-7, PF-10.
Murphysboro (26) – Clemons 2 0 3-3 7, Feggins 1 0 0-0 2, Abell 0 0 0-0 0, Davis 0 0 0-0 0, Rogers 0 0 0-0 0, Walker 3 0 2-4 8, Abernathy 3 1 0-0 9. 2FG-9, 3FG-1, FT-5-7, PF-8.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.