Karson Briner Gets 15 Points, 13 Boards, and 5 Blocks in Tiger Win

Karson Briner had 15 points, 13 boards, and 5 blocks, Worth County had four in double figures, and the Tigers overcame an injury to Hayden Sanders (Achilles) to pull off a 52-44 win over North Harrison Friday, bouncing back from a forgettable loss to Princeton the game before.

Hayden Sanders sparked the Tigers early, taking a charge on Wyatt Maize and hitting a 3-pointer to push the Tigers to a 5-2 lead. But then North Harrison's press started taking its toll as Gage Fortner knotted it right back up and Jensen Davis scored four straight and Wyatt Maize added a pair of free throws to put the Shamrocks in front 11-6.

Despite Briner picking up his second foul, Hayden Sanders hit two free throws, Caleb New hit a 3-pointer, and Hayden Sanders drove through a screen and hit a 3-pointer to put the Tigers back in front 14-11 after one.

Jensen Davis cut it to 14-13, but Hayden Sanders and Cole Ruby hit back to back jacks to make it 20-13. But North Harrison hung around for the rest of the quarter as Jensen Davis scored off a drive and Wyatt Maize knocked one down from the high post to make it 20-17. Ryder Smyser's putback made it 22-17, but Jensen Davis' steal cut it to 22-19 at the half.

North Harrison continued to hang around for the start of the third quarter and Wyatt Maize's 3-pointer cut their deficit to 28-26 at the 5:30 mark of the third quarter. But it looked like the Tigers would take over after Karson Briner started going off on one of his big scoring bursts, scoring six straight to make it 34-26. But two things derailed the Tigers' momentum. First, Hayden Sanders left with his injury and did not return. Then, Karson Briner picked up his third foul and the Shamrocks started to come back. Wyatt Maize hit a free throw, Evan Schreiber hit a pullup, and Ryker Fortner came off the bench to hit a 3-pointer to make it 34-32 after three.

Caleb New drove and scored to temporarily stop the bleeding to start the fourth, but Worth County looked to be in trouble without their best ball handler in Hayden Sanders after Jensen Davis and Wyatt Maize scored off steals to knot it at 36. Cole Ruby drove and scored, only for one of Gage Fortner's off-balance triples to go in and put the Shamrocks up 39-38. "We thought we had all the momentum at that point," said their coach, Justin Joiner.

But then Cole Ruby alertly pushed it up the floor to Karson Briner, who hit from the baseline to put the Tigers up for good. Cole Ruby drove and hit two free throws, then Karson Briner got behind the defense and got a pass from Cole Ruby to make it 44-39. Meanwhile, Caleb New was playing his best ball since coming back from his injuries; he was getting the team into the offense and helping everybody know where they were supposed to be.

Caleb New drove and scored, drew the foul, missed a free throw, only for Briner to put it back in for a four point play to make it 48-39.

Evan Schreiber's desperation drive stopped the bleeding with 1:14 left and made it 48-41 and Karson Briner's free throw with 1:01 left was answered by Gage Fortner's guarded three with 50 seconds left to make it 49-44. But Caleb New was fouled and hit both free throws with 48 seconds left to make it a three possession game at 51-44.

North Harrison tried unsuccessfully for the next 30 seconds to free itself for a 3-pointer to make it four before Wyatt Maize missed a runner with 18 seconds. Cole Ruby hit a free throw to make it 52-44 and then blocked Gage Fortner's 3-point try. Evan Schreiber missed a tip-in try and Karson Briner secured the defensive board for the Tiger win.

Karson Briner had 15 points. Hayden Sanders had 13, Caleb New and Cole Ruby 10, and Ryder Smyser and Cannon Fletcher 2 each.

Karson Briner had 5 blocks and Cole Ruby 1.

Karson Briner had 13 boards. Lucas Frisch had 9, Hayden Sanders 7, Cannon Fletcher 4, Cole Ruby and Ryder Smyser 3, and Andrew Griffin and Caleb New 2 each.

Cole Ruby had 8 assists. Hayden Sanders had 4, Caleb New 2, and Cannon Fletcher 1.

Caleb New had 5 tips. Karson Briner had 2 and Hayden Sanders, Cannon Fletcher, Ryder Smyser, and Lucas Frisch had 1.

Hayden Sanders and Caleb New had 3 steals each. Andrew Griffin had 2 and Cannon Fletcher and Cole Ruby had 1.

For North Harrison, Jensen Davis had 14, Wyatt Maize 12, Gage Fortner 11, Evan Schreiber 4, and Ryker Fortner 3.

Owan Roberson had 3 blocks and Wyatt Maize 1.

Owan Roberson had 10 boards. Wyatt Maize had 7, Andrew Craig 6, Evan Schreiber 4, Jensen Davis and Gage Fortner 3 each, and Dustin Hamilton 1.

Wyatt Maize had 4 assists. Owan Roberson had 3, Jensen Davis and Gage Fortner had 2, and Dustin Hamilton, Andrew Craig, and Evan Schreiber 1 each.

Wyatt Maize had 5 tips. Gage Fortner had 3, Jensen Davis 2, and Ryker Fortner and Dustin Hamilton 1 each.

Jensen Davis had 6 steals. Wyatt Maize had 2, and Owan Roberson, Gage Fortner, Dustin Hamilton, and Ryker Fortner had 1 each.