01-16-04
JOHNSTON CITY @ MCLEANSBORO
BY JACK BULLOCK
MCLEANSBORO - As the final seconds of Friday night's Black Diamond Conference game at McLeansboro were ticking down, there was little doubt which Hamilton County player coach Curt Reed wanted to take the last shot.

Gared Douglass had paced the Foxes in scoring and hustle on the court up to this point of the contest.
With the game tied at 41, his teammates worked the ball to him in the left corner.

He spotted up and let fly with a 3-point attempt, which ripped through the net with :06 left.

By the time Johnston City coach Randy House got the attention of the referees and his players that he needed a time out, the Indians had already tossed the ball in and lost it out of bounds in front of the Indians bench with :00.9 left.

A simple inbounds pass made winners out of the Foxes for only the fourth time in 15-games.

"He's a pretty good little shooter," said a smiling Coach Reed after the game when talking about the 5-9 Douglass. "His shot at the end was a good shot. Our kids worked hard and we got a win."

Coach House saw his team miss on several opportunities late in the contest.

Six-five senior Josh Dean, normally a pretty good marksmen from the free throw line, was just 1-of-6 from the stripe in the game.

He had a chance to give the Indians a lead with :26.9 left but missed on a 1-and-1 chance. Hamilton County got the rebound and set up Douglass for the final shot.

"It gets a little tighter on that shot (by Douglass) at the other end if it (the score) is not even," said House, who saw his team's record drop to 9-8 on the season. "He had nothing to lose when he shot it. If we have the lead, it is a little tougher shot to make."

Johnston City opened the game by going to one of its strengths, pounding the ball inside to Dean and 6-3 senior Josh Hunter.

Hunter scored the first four points for JC in the paint while teammates Dean and Kyle Baker accounted for six more points in the quarter.

Baker, a 5-10 senior, scored on rebound in the lane to give the Indians a 6-2 lead at the 3:44 mark.

But Matt Downen, the tallest Fox on the floor at 6-2, made the most of his first starting assignment of the season by scoring a couple of early baskets.

His 'backdoor cut' to the basket while receiving a pass from Douglass resulted in an easy lay in which whittled the Indians lead to 10-9.

Danny Hopfinger scored the final three points of the quarter and gave Ham Co. a 12-10 lead.

He knocked down a baseline shot and a follow-up free throw while being fouled by Hunter.

The second quarter saw some good play by both teams and was highlighted by seven lead changes.

Johnston City, behind Dean and Baker, scored the first five points of the quarter to give team a 15-12 lead.

But Hamilton County's Hopfinger got going offensively by scoring a couple of times in the lane. His second bucket gave the Foxes an 18-17 lead.

Cedrick Graham gave Coach Reed a lift off of the bench, scoring four points in the frame. His rebound basket with 2:36 before the half put Ham Co. back in front 20-19.

After a JC turnover, Coach Reed instructed his club to hold the ball for the final shot.

But Douglass had his shot blocked by Dean and Johnston City's Kegan Johns picked up the ball and was fouled.

He made the first of two free throws with :05.7 to go.

But then on the rebound of the second shot, Douglass got the ball in the frontcourt and launched a 3-pointer the caromed off the glass and into the basket as time expired giving the Foxes a 22-21 advantage.

"The one he hit in the first half off the glass wasn't luck," added Coach Reed. "He can hit that shot with that angle."

Douglass carried the Foxes on his back with an 11-point third quarter spree.

He got his club off to a good start in the second half by scoring on a rebound 'put back' and a 3-point play while being fouled by Kyle Baker.

Baker picked up his third personal on the play with 6:29 showing on the clock.

Another 'back door score' from the Foxes, this time by Daniel Wiggins along with 'back-to-back' 3-pointers by Douglass pushed the lead to the high-water mark of the night at 36-26.

But Johnston City jumped right back into the fray with Richard Baker and Johns connecting on consecutive Indian offensive trips.
Johns' 3-pointer finished the quarter at 36-31 Foxes.

Graham hit on his biggest play of the night to open the final stanza for Ham Co.

Driving to the basket, he was fouled by Kyle Baker (his fourth personal) as his shot found the bottom of the basket. Graham's made charity gave the Foxes a 39-31 cushion.

But R. Baker struck quickly, scoring on a rare 4-point play. He canned a 3-pointer from the right corner while being pushed down by Wiggins.

His free throw rattled home and suddenly the Foxes advantage had been reduced to 39-35.

"We stepped it up and we got some breaks.

They missed a few shots and we got some to fall. When you play hard you can make some breaks for yourself," added Coach House. "We played a little harder tonight than we have been."

At this point, Johnston City increased its pressure on the defensive end, which resulted in a couple of late steals.

R. Baker scored off of one of the pilfers connecting on an 18-foot shot.

A baseline drive by JC's Hunter knotted the game at 39-all one possession later with what seemed like and eternity of 4:02 remaining.

"Unselfish play is what got us back into this game and that is what we have to do to make us a better team," said Coach House.

Hamilton County went deliberant with its offensive and it paid off with an easy drive to the basket by Douglass at 2:27 to give Coach Reed's club back the lead at 41-39.

But just moments later, Johnston City's Richard Baker tied the game for the final time with a 10-footer in the lane at 2:06.

Hamilton County again worked the offense for a good shot against a fired-up Johnston City half-court offense, which resulted in a short shot that Douglass missed off of the backboard.

Johnston City got the rebound and used a timeout with 1:11 to play.

"I bet we missed at least six lay-ups tonight. I don't know how much easier a shot we could have gotten tonight, maybe if we were standing up there on a step ladder and dropped it in," added an always sharp-witted Coach Reed. "We have got to knock down those easy ones."

Johnston City looked like it was going to get the last hurrah of this night as they got the ball in the middle to Dean, who was fouled by Hopfinger with :26.9 left.

However Dean missed the front end of the 1-and-1 and Hunter was called for going over the back of a Hamilton County player on the rebound, which gave the ball back to the Foxes.

The Douglass shot came after Hamilton County broke down the Indians defense at the end.

"We played pretty hard tonight and we played pretty well, too," added Coach House. "But we're making some strides here. We will be alright."

Coach Reed echoed those sentiments about his club, who have won 3-of-4 games since the Eldorado Holiday Tourney.

"When kids get their tail beat many times in a row and they come back ready and get their nose to the grindstone, that says a lot," said Coach Reed about his kids. "That says a lot about the players I have here."

Besides Douglass' 20-points, Hopfinger pitched in nine points while Graham scored seven coming off of the Hamilton County bench.

Johnston City got 11 points from Dean and 10 from Kyle Baker.

Both of these teams will have to be ready next week as each will tackle five-games in two of the top invitational tournaments in the state.

JC is at the West Frankfort Mid-Winter Classic while Hamilton County returns to Rich Herrin Gym and the Benton Invitational Tournament.

Johnston City (41) - K. Baker 4 0 2-2 10, Johns 0 1 3-4 6, R. Baker 2 1 1-1 8, Hunter 2 0 0-0 4, Dean 5 0 1-1 11.
2FG-12, 3FG-2, FT-7-13, PF-12.
Hamilton County (44) - Douglass 2 5 1-1 20, Hopfinger 4 0 1-3 9, Graham 3 0 1-1 7, Wiggins 1 0 0-1 2, Downen 2 0 0-0 4.
2FG-12, 3FG-5, FT-3-6, PF-13.