North Harrison’s boys lost the lead against Gilman City Friday in their Homecoming match, but got it back and came away with the 53-49 victory Friday.
Gilman City came in giving up only 44 points per game and with a record of 6-6. They had played state-ranked Winston tough before losing by 11, and they had beaten the same teams that North Harrison had beaten. The Hawks had led Worth County at halftime in the first round of districts last year before Worth County pulled away for the win in the second half. The Shamrocks scored nine above that average to get the win. Another big difference in the game was the rebounding – North Harrison outrebounded the Hawks 31-21.
It looked like North Harrison would get the easy Homecoming win at first. Logan Craig started off the scoring with a drive down the left side after Kaleb Bjornlie had hit an early three for Gilman City. Craig got loose in transition and got a pass from Logan Huitt, got loose inside for a three-point play after taking a pass from Collin Castleberry, and got loose again after getting a pass from Steven Willhite. In just a span of four minutes, Craig had scored nine points to give his team a 9-3 lead.
Gage Sperry hit a free throw for Gilman City to break the run, but Logan Craig drew Bjornlie’s second foul and got another three-point play, got loose again and got a pass from Gavin Garrett, and scored off a steal after Garrett had pushed it down the floor to make it 16-4. At that point, Logan Craig had scored all 16 of North Harrison’s points.
But the two teams play football together and the rivalry aspect meant it was only a matter of time before Gilman City started coming back. They began chipping away behind the scoring of Kaleb Bjornlie, Dakota Boe, and Cornelius Perry, closing to within 23-18 at the half.
North Harrison had played a nearly perfect first half, getting only four turnovers in the half. But they were pitted against one of the best defensive teams of the area, and they proceeded to clamp down on Craig in the third quarter. But then Steven Willhite went off on the Hawks, getting 13 of his 18 points in the period. He knocked down consecutive threes to start the frame, then went backdoor and got a backdoor pass from Logan Huitt. Brett Emig cut inside and got a pass from Logan Craig to make it 34-23 and push North Harrison’s lead to double digits again.
Balanced scoring from Gilman City kept the lead between 7 and 11 points. But then they changed up defenses on every single play to start the fourth, faceguarding both Willhite and Craig, and daring everyone else to shoot outside. As North Harrison’s players were looking around confused, wondering what defense they were up against, their lead evaporated and Dakota Boe’s putback brought the Hawks to within one at 42-41.
Collin Castleberry hit Logan Craig inside for a three point play and Craig added a putback as North Harrison tried to hold off Gilman City. But then Bjornlie hit a 3-pointer from the baseline to put his team up for the first time since the first quarter at 48-47.
Someone besides Willhite or Craig needed to step up for North Harrison, and Logan Huitt finally drove down the left side to put North Harrison back up 49-48 with 2:27 left before Boe’s free throw tied it at 49 with 2:15 left.
Both sides missed two chances to go ahead as North Harrison missed a couple of shots and Boe missed a pair of free throws and traveled with it on another possession. Finally, Logan Huitt hit a cutting Brett Emig with 41 seconds left to put North Harrison up 51-49.
It looked like Emig would get a steal, but a questionable foul call on him gave the ball back to North Harrison. But they had a foul to give, so no harm was done. Boe drove into the paint, but a contested look from 10 feet was off the mark. Logan Craig missed a 1-1 with 27 seconds left, but Brett Emig got a tip and Collin Castleberry got a steal with 18 seconds left, and Steven Willhite hit a free throw to make it 52-49.
As North Harrison was playing stingy defense, Gilman City could not get a tying three off, and Ira Johnson traveled with it. Perry yanked Logan Huitt’s shirt in frustration with 2.5 seconds left and Huitt hit one of two free throws to put the game out of reach.
Logan Craig hit 25 points for North Harrison. Steven Willhite had 18, Brett Emig 5, Logan Huitt 3, and Collin Castleberry 2.
Steven Willhite had 2 blocks and Collin Castleberry 1.
Logan Craig had a double double for North Harrison, getting 12 boards to go with his 25 points. Brett Emig and Collin Castleberry had 5, Steven Willhite and Logan Craig had 4, and Gavin Garrett had 1.
Logan Huitt had 6 assists for the Shamrocks. Collin Castleberry and Gavin Garrett had 4, Brett Emig had 2, and Logan Craig and Steven Willhite 1.
Logan Craig, Steven Willhite, and Brett Emig had 2 tips for North Harrison. Logan Huitt had 1.
Logan Craig had 4 steals for North Harrison. Steven Willhite and Collin Castleberry had 2 each.
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