12-28-13
BY JACK BULLOCK
ELDORADO – Please forgive Harrisburg head coach Randy Smithpeters for his Déjà vu moment late in the championship game of the Eldorado Holiday Tournament on Saturday night.

It wasn’t because his team was about to win its fourth consecutive championship. It was because the last time that his club lost a game at this event, the Bulldogs blew a double-digit lead and lost to Mounds Meridian in the title game back in 2009.

With Meridian on the move and making a comeback, Coach Smithpeters got a flashback of what had happened five years ago.

In that title game, Meridian outscored Harrisburg 11-1 in the last 2:50 to shock the Bulldogs, 72-70.

Fortunately for this mentor and his team, the Bulldogs had enough left to avoid a repeat collapse.

Behind 11-of-15 free throw competence in the final frame and the long-range shooting of tournament MVP Bahari Amaya and Anfernee Houston, Harrisburg snagged its fourth consecutive EHT title with an 85-77 triumph.

Houston topped all scorers with 26-points while Amaya added 19.

Eli Taborn-Scott netted 15-points while Jarren Goldman finished with 14.

Taborn-Scott, a 6-foot-4 senior forward, never lost a game playing in this tournament (16-0) as he saw varsity playing time in all four years as a Bulldog.

“Yeah it was Déjà vu. We were 11-up with three minutes to go and five years ago, some of the shots they put up were volley ball line shots (25-feet from the basket) went in back on that night,” said Coach Smithpeters. “Tonight we were fortunate and they didn’t go in. We rebounded well and I’m very happy with the win.”

Previously unbeaten Meridian saw its mark slip to 11-1 on the season despite 21-points apiece from Justin Prewitt, Davarae Edmonds and David Davis.

In a contest that more track meet than chess match, the difference turned out to be Meridian’s inability to equal the Bulldogs proficiency from beyond the 3-point line.

Harrisburg nailed 7-of-10 shots from long range while the Bobcats’ Achilles heel on the night was nearly 20-feet from the basket and beyond.

Coach Jeff Mandrell’s club was just 4-of-21 from long distance, a stat that on this night couldn’t be overcome.

It kept Meridian from turning any of its offensive runs into a title game victory.

The Bulldogs committed 18 turnovers compared to nine from the ‘Cats.

Again, as it turned out to be a moot point, Meridian couldn’t take advantage as their final rally fell short.

“We couldn’t get over the top (big run) and to their credit they are a good team. They (Harrisburg) came out on fire. There were things that we could have done better. But it was a tough tournament and we got where we wanted to be,” said Coach Mandrell. “We didn’t get the result we wanted tonight but I give credit to Harrisburg for that.”

Harrisburg got off to a quick early advantage in this offensive spectacle.

After spotting the Bobcats their only lead of the game just seconds into the fray, Harrisburg began bombing away.

Back-to-back missiles from Amaya and Houston knocked Meridian back on its heels.

When Harrisburg wasn’t launching shots from long range, they were taking the ball to the basket against Meridian.

Taborn-Scott, Houston and Amaya all scored in transition.

Houston drove the lane on a half court set in the final moments for a 23-15 lead at the end of a fast-paced opening quarter.

“It is always important to get off to a good start and tonight we did,” Coach Smithpeters explained. “This group has faced some adversity. We go to Massac County and take it on the chin (74-56 loss on December 20) and tonight we had a bad stretch were we let them (Meridian) back in the game. But those are things that will make us better and that is what we want to do.”

Coach Smithpeters’ club got its first double-digit lead early in the second quarter on a bucket by Amaya and pair of free throws from reserve Corbin Crim.

Crim also got in on the long distance fun, nailing a 3-pointer from deep in the left wing for a 37-24 lead.

Another 3-pointer from Amaya and two free throws by Houston gave Harrisburg a 45-32 lead at the break.

“We have some kids that played in the shadow of that great team we had last year. They were very good players, they just didn’t see the floor,” said Coach Smithpeters. “And now they have their opportunity to shine. I’m very proud of them.”

The Bulldogs seemed to be set for an early celebration as the third quarter expired.

Taborn-Scott and Houston both scored late in the frame, which ended at 60-48 Harrisburg.

However, to the credit of Coach Mandrell’s men, the Bobcats weren’t about to go down without a fight.

Trailing 67-57 with 5:40 remaining, Meridian went on its first run of the night.

Davis scored twice, sandwiched around two free throws by Edmonds, and when his fast break score off of a steal by teammate D.J. Weldon fell through the net, suddenly the Bobcats were down just 67-63.

Edmonds, a 6-foot-2 junior forward, helped by scoring two more times in the extended run as Meridian fought back.

Two free throws by Weldon on Amaya’s fifth personal foul with :26.9 remaining closed the gap to just 80-77.

But at this point, Meridian came up empty.

Forced to foul, the Bobcats paraded Harrisburg to the line.

And 5-of-6 free throws later, Harrisburg had captured tournament title number five in its history at the event.

“We didn’t take advantage of their mistakes early and that happened in this tournament where we would miss a lay up or a short shot when we really needed it,” said Coach Mandrell. “That happened a few times and it is hard to explain.”

After being the bride’s maid for many seasons (nine second place finishes) the Bulldogs can’t seem to lose in this event.

Counting the last five seasons, Harrisburg is 19-1 at the EHT.

Meridian can look to its shooting from the outside that dropped its overall performance to 30-of-64 (46.8 percent) as a factor.

“We got close but just not close enough. We will take away things here this week and learn from it,” added Coach Mandrell. “That is a good 2A team and we think that we are a good 1A team and we will go from here.”

Also in the picture was not being able to take full advantage of Harrisburg’s mistakes.

“We are glad to play here (EHT) because any mistakes that you make here are exploited by the competition,” finalized Coach Mandrell. “It is a unique situation in that you play four games in three days so you get to find out how good you are in a short time.”

The Bulldogs won this championship by hitting 29-of-49 overall (59.1 percent) along with 20-of-29 from the foul line.

“It’s an historical thing, being the first team that has ever done that. It’s a tough (tournament) to win, there is no question about that and it wasn’t easy this time,” said Coach Smithpeters. “I tip my hat to Meridian. They are a very skilled and athletic team. Well coached and disciplined. We knew it would be tough. We wanted to use this (tournament) and every game to grow. I thought that we grew a lot in the Massac County game (semifinal win). We came out and rebounded better than we did before. We defended better today but it is something that we have to get better at.”

FAIRFIELD 72, ANNA-JONESBORO 68
The Mules outlasted the Wildcats in the fifth place game as Coach Scott McElravy’s club improved to 8-3 on the season with two wins on the final day.

Six-foot-six junior Nathaniel Lackey led the scoring with 29-points for the Mules, who used a 21-10 third quarter advantage to break away from A-J.

The Wildcats we topped by Zack Parr with 17-points, including five 3-pointers.

Coach Mike Chamness saw his club drop to 7-5 on the season.

Anna-Jonesboro (68) – Fuller 5 0 4-7 14, Prater 4 1 0-0 11, Parr 1 5 0-0 17, McFarland 5 0 0-0 10, Kemp 1 0 0-0 2, Reed 0 0 5-6 5, James 0 3 0-0 9, Earnhart 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-16, 3FG-9, FT-9-13, PF-20.
Fairfield (63) – Col. Simpson 0 0 0-0 0, Gifford 0 3 0-0 9, Fry 5 1 4-6 17, Lackey 13 0 3-9 29, Cod. Simpson 4 0 2-3 10, Griefzu 0 0 0-0 0, Kollar 1 0 0-0 2, Rodgers 1 0 3-4 5.
2FG-24, 3FG-4, FT-12-22, PF-10.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.

GALLATIN COUNTY 58, CARMI-WHITE COUNTY 53
The Hawks captured the consolation title with a win over the Bulldogs, to complete a 3-1 week at the EHT.

Coach Robert “Radar” Patton saw his club get 15-points from Zach McGuire and 13-points from Austin Russell in the win, improving the Hawks’ mark to 6-3 overall.

CWC (8-4) was led by Chase Sailor with 15-points and 12-points from Joe Matz.

Carmi-White County (53) – Vaughan 1 0 4-4 6, Brown 2 1 1-2 8, Sailor 6 0 3-3 15, Steed 1 1 0-0 5, Large 1 0 0-0 2, Matz 5 0 2-7 12, Gray 0 0 0-0 0, Vaught 2 0 1-2 5, Weller 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-18, 3FG-2, FT-11-18, PF-20.
Gallatin County (58) – M. Ramsey 0 0 2-2 2, Russell 2 1 6-7 13, McGuire 0 5 0-0 15, Scates 2 0 2-3 6, Wargel 4 0 2-2 10, S. Ramsey 0 1 6-9 9, Oldham 1 0 1-2 3.
2FG-9, 3FG-7, FT-19-25, PF-11.
Fouled Out – Sailor - Carmi-White County.
Technical Fouls – None.