Jerry Gilpatrick, Ethan Henson, and Keygun Johnson all had big nights for the Shamrocks as they beat South Harrison 67-61 Thursday for the first time since 2020, when Brett Emig and the Shamrocks beat them 64-55 in the South Harrison Tournament. They beat a team that had their number twice last year, beating them handily on two different occasions, in the GRC Crossover and in the South Harrison Tournament.
At first, it looked like it would be the same thing as South Harrison was outworking the Shamrocks and Jett Cornett converted a third chance drive to put his team up 4-3. But then Jerry Gilpatrick got himself going with a 3-point play to make it 6-4, Keygun Johnson hit a free throw, Jerry scored off a Dustin Hamilton steal, Keygun Johnson scored from inside, Jerry Gilpatrick scored in transition, and then Jerry fed Ethan Henson to make it 15-4.
That forced South Harrison into a timeout. At first, nothing worked as Jerry Gilpatrick continued to have the got hand and the lead drew to as much as 27-13. But then consecutive drives by Braxton Booth got South Harrison going on offense. Gilpatrick kept hitting, and Keygun Johnson was scoring as well, but Khale Taggart came off the bench and started scoring for the purple shirts as they chipped away, getting as close as 35-30 before Jerry Gilpatrick’s free throws made it 37-30 at the half.
But then South Harrison started forcing turnovers to start the second half, and Jett Cornett scored four straight to cut it to 37-34. Jerry Gilpatrick scored four straight to make it 41-34, but then Braxton Booth, Brody Templeton, and Cooper Johnson all scored in another big run for South Harrison that cut their deficit to 45-43 and force a Shamrock timeout.
But Booth scored off a steal out of the timeout, and the Shamrock lead was gone. North Harrison got on the line, but with the South Harrison student body chirping like a bunch of crows, Keygun Johnson missed two free throws. But the ball went out off the purple shirts and back to the Shamrocks, and Ethan Henson inbounded it to Johnson, who made the most of his second chance to put North Harrison back in front.
The same thing happened on the next play. North Harrison got on the line, the South Harrison student body was chirping and cawing, and both free throws went astray. But this time, North Harrison got two straight offensive boards and this time, Jerry Gilpatrick made both his free throws to make it 49-45. Free throws by Cornett and Templeton cut it to 49-47, but then Jerry Gilpatrick fed Wyatt Maize, who went up and under to make it 51-47 after three.
Braxton Booth scored off a steal to start the fourth and cut it to 51-49, but then Ethan Henson fed Jerry Gilpatrick inside, and then got it to Keygun Johnson, who hit both free throws to make it 55-49. Then, Jerry Gilpatrick blocked a shot on one end, which set up Keygun Johnson on the other end to make it 57-49 with 6:33 left.
Booth once again carried the Bulldogs on his shoulders, getting it down to 57-53 with 5:23 left, but then Keygun Johnson pushed it ahead to Ethan Henson for three and then a Henson steal led to a Gilpatrick basket to make it 62-53.
Isaac Williams hit from inside to cut it to 62-55, and South Harrison had fouls to give, so they could afford to be very aggressive on defense. But the Shamrocks took care of the ball and Jerry Gilpatrick made four free throws down the stretch and Wyatt Maize one as they withstood South Harrison’s late three point barrage to get the win.
The rest of the tournament was canceled due to the weather.
The win was North Harrison’s third straight (corrected from last week; North Harrison beat Lamoni, lost to Pattonsburg, then beat Stanberry, Gilman City, and South Harrison) and fourth of their last five.
Jerry Gilpatrick had 32 points. Keygun Johnson had 19, Ethan Henson 8, Wyatt Maize 6, and Dustin Hamilton 2.
Keygun Johnson had 2 blocks. Jerry Gilpatrick and Ethan Henson had 1.
Keygun Johnson had 14 rebounds. Jerry Gilpatrick had 8, Ethan Henson 4, Wyatt Maize 3, and Dustin Hamilton and Andrew Craig 1.
Ethan Henson had 12 assists. Wyatt Maize had 5, Keygun Johnson and Jerry Gilpatrick 3, and Dustin Hamilton 1. The most assists in a game that we remember from a Shamrock was Brandon Craig, who had 14 in a game during his playing days. North Harrison was playing Pattonsburg, both teams were tough, and Shane Skinner had 43 that game. North Harrison would go to state that year. Cooper Cracraft had 10 assists in a game in 2022, during North Harrison's 101-28 win over Breckinridge.
Wyatt Maize, Jerry Gilpatrick, and Keygun Johnson had 2 tips on defense. Dustin Hamilton, Owan Roberson, and Ethan Henson had 1.
Jerry Gilpatrick had 3 steals. Wyatt Maize, Owan Roberson, Dustin Hamilton, and Ethan Henson had 1 each.
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