When it mattered most, Harrisburg made sure to make it count.
The Bulldogs went to the free throw line 19 times in the fourth quarter and knocked down 16 shots, finishing the game 19-for-27 in a 51-45 victory over Norris City-Omaha-Enfield Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Eldorado Holiday Tournament.
Harrisburg head coach Randy Smithpeters acknowledged how big free throws were down the stretch, especially coming from a never-say-die Cardinal ballclub that was banging in 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
"We really emphasized not fouling and we got in foul trouble in the first half, so we emphasized it even more in the second half. The game flipped flopped where were okay towards the end and Norris City wasn't. Making free throws were very important down the stretch, because it's what kept our heads above water.
"We said at halftime that Norris City was going to hit some three's in the second half," Smithpeters noted. "They missed, probably more than normal in the first half, and we knew some of those were going to go in in the second half. They did. The lead tightened up, our offense stagnated a little bit and we pulled through that."
Will Gibbs, who made 10-of-13 charity stripe shots in the fourth quarter, finished with a game-high 19 points. Jesse Lawler also finished in double figures for the Bulldogs, tacking on 10 points.
Zayne Hayes scored seven points for the Bulldogs, while Andrew Bittle got Harrisburg off to a hot start, knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers, finished with six points. Blake Watson came off the bench for five points, while Will Sanders finished with four points.
CJ Richardson put up a team-high 13 points for NCOE, while Brandon Skaggs tacked on 10 points.
Spyder Dann covers prep and college sports for the Southern Illinois Local Media News Group. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.
