It looked for all the world like North Harrison’s junior high boys would fade after a promising start against Albany. But all of a sudden, they collected a ton of steals off the press, hung 21 points on them in the fourth quarter, and came away with a 44-29 win over the Warriors, who had blown them out earlier in the year.
North Harrison’s boys finished with a 10-6 mark. They won the Mercer Tournament earlier in the year and were runner-up in the North Harrison Round Robin behind Worth County. North Harrison had won handily over Princeton, beating them for the second time of the year, before falling to Worth County in another wild game, 57-44 in the second game.
At first, it looked like Wade Briggs would carry his squad to an easy victory. North Harrison countered Kirby Stevens’ free throw as Nick Babinski scored off a Cruz Ury steal and then Wade Briggs started to heat up. He got loose after Cruz Ury pulled down a defensive board and Nick Babinski got him a pass. Briggs then made a circus shot when his triple from the right baseline banked off the glass and in and then got a putback. Hunter Parkhurst went coast to coast and beat the Warriors down the floor to make it 11-1 with 1:22 left in the first.
But then Albany looked like they would take control for the next two quarters as they started chipping away. Jordan Poppa hit two free throws and then Garett Owens got the hot hand as the Warriors closed to within 11-10 midway through the second.
Wade Briggs kept hitting, getting a triple off a skip pass from Hunter Parkhurst to make it 14-10, but then Owens’ 3-pointer put Albany in front 15-14. The teams exchanged leads until Albany shot prematurely in the closing seconds of the half and Wade Briggs had time to go coast to coast at the buzzer to but North Harrison up 19-18.
It looked like it wouldn’t matter as Albany made use of their size in the third and looked like they would take control, even after their big man, Bobby Dodge, got his third foul. Owens hit his second 3-pointer of the night to make it 26-21 before Hunter Parkhurst got a putback late in the period to make it 26-23 for the first Shamrock tally by anyone besides Briggs since the first quarter.
The players said that coach Ryan Purdun didn’t tell them anything special before the crazy fourth quarter that put North Harrison over the top. “We were tired of being pushed around,” said Briggs after the game. The first sign was when little-used Cooper Cracraft came off the bench and started wrestling for every loose ball in sight and took on Poppa, drew a foul, and hit a free throw to start the period.
Then, after Cruz Ury scored from inside to tie it at 26, Wade Briggs hit an NBA 3-pointer from the top of the key after Parkhurst got him the ball to make it 29-26. All of a sudden, the Shamrocks were swarming, pressing, and running Albany out of the gym. Cruz Ury played like a man possessed in the frame, getting six out of his eight steals in the period, all on the press.
Wade Briggs scored after one of Cruz Ury’s steals; then, Hunter Parkhurst ran over a Warrior defender for another layup. Cooper Cracraft made another play, grabbing an offensive board over the taller Albany players and getting a free throw for his effort and making it 34-26. Nick Babinski banked one home from the high post and then Wade Briggs got yet another steal off the press to make it 38-26. Cruz Ury went backdoor after a drive to Nick Babinski, and then Wade Briggs and Cooper Cracraft hit free throws down the stretch for North Harrison.
Wade Briggs had 27 to lead North Harrison. Hunter Parkhurst and Nick Babinski had 6, Cooper Cracraft 3, and Cruz Ury 2.
Nick Babinski had 3 blocks for North Harrison.
Hunter Parkhurst had 9 boards for the Shamrocks. Wade Briggs had 7, Cruz Ury 6, Nick Babinski 5, Cooper Cracraft 3, and Kamden Robertson 1.
Cruz Ury had 5 assists for North Harrison. Hunter Parkhurst had 3 and Nick Babinski 2.
Wade Briggs and Hunter Parkhurst had 7 tips each for North Harrison. Cruz Ury had 6, Nick Babinski and Cooper Cracraft 3 each, Brandon Hamilton 2, and Cole Kampman 1.
Cruz Ury had 8 steals for the Shamrocks. Wade Briggs had 6, Hunter Parkhurst 3, and Cole Kampman 1.
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