North Harrison’s boys won handily over East Harrison in the first round, avenged a regular season loss to Pattonsburg in the second round, then dropped a wild game in the championship in the third round to secure the second place trophy at the Gilman City Tournament.
In North Harrison’s 78-38 win over East Harrison, the Bobcats hung with the Shamrocks for a while as Chase Hale, Jaydon Wonsetler, and Malachi Wright-Fowler twice connected to give the Bobcats an 8-6 lead.
But then Wyatt Maize scored off a drive, and then East Harrison didn’t have an answer for Andrew Craig down the stretch as he would score the next six. Gage Fortner whirled around and threw up a 3-pointer that went in to make it 17-8 after one.
Gage Fortner hit Ryker Fortner for three, Ryker hit Gage for three, and Jensen Davis aired one out to Wyatt Maize to make it 25-10 early in the second quarter.
Even Maize picking up his third foul didn’t faze the Shamrocks as they kept right on pulling away. The margin was +15 when Wyatt went out and +25 at the halftime buzzer.
The Shamrocks got four different scores from four different people and continued to pull away even after Gage Fortner tweaked his ankle and sat for a stretch in the quarter. He came back and finished the game. By the time the dust had settled, North Harrison was in front 44-19 at the half.
Wyatt Maize came back in the second half and immediately made an impact as the extended rest helped him out. He scored the Shamrocks first five points in the third quarter and 14 total in the period. Jensen Davis was on fire as well, adding 11 points and three 3-pointers as the Shamrocks pulled away to a 69-29 lead.
Wyatt Maize hit a reverse layup to start the fourth before the subs started joining the scoring. Wyatt Maize got a steal, got it to Jensen Davis, who fed Jacoby Ballard for two. Jensen Davis hit his fourth three of the night, and Kayson Sims caught a carom and stuck it in as the Shamrocks won 78-38.
Wyatt Maize had 22 points. Jensen Davis had 21, Andrew Craig 13, Gage Fortner 11, Ryker Fortner 7, and Jacoby Ballard and Kayson Sims 2 each.
Tate Richardson and Ethan Henson had 1 block each.
Andrew Craig had 12 boards. Ethan Henson had 5, Ryker Fortner and Gage Fortner 4 each, Kyler Kimbrough 3, Dustin Hamilton and Wyatt Maize 2, and Tate Richardson, Coulsen Hartschen, Meric Hansel, and Henry Frank 1.
Wyatt Maize had 6 assists. Jensen Davis had 5, Gage Fortner 4, Ryker Fortner 3, Tate Richardson and Ethan Henson 2, and Dustin Hamilton and Andrew Craig 1.
Ryker Fortner and Jensen Davis had 5 tips each. Wyatt Maize, Gage Fortner, Tate Richardson, and Jacoby Ballard had 3, Andrew Craig 2, and Ethan Henson, Kyler Kimbrough, and Dustin Hamilton 1.
Ryker Fortner had 5 steals. Gage Fortner had 3, Jensen Davis and Tate Richardson 3, Wyatt Maize 2, and Dustin Hamilton, Andrew Craig, and Kayson Sims 1.
That put North Harrison up against Pattonsburg, who had dropped them by 20 the first time out. But this time, it was a totally different outcome as Pattonsburg was doomed by turnovers. They surrendered the ball 19 times, while North Harrison took care of the ball and surrendered it only 9 times in the Shamrocks’ 63-42 win.
The teams went blow for blow throughout the first quarter. Pattonsburg raced out to a 9-4 lead, only for Gage Fortner to shoot the Shamrocks back into the game with one of his huge scoring bursts. By the time the dust had settled, Wyatt Maize cashed in on a steal at the end of the quarter to put North Harrison up 13-12 after one.
The teams continued to go blow for blow at the start of the second, with Brandon Heath going coast to coast to knot it up 15-15 for Pattonsburg. But then Pattonsburg went through a stretch where they committed a bunch of turnovers, and North Harrison began to pull away. Wyatt Maize and Jensen Davis worked a give and go, Jensen Davis aired one out to Maize for two, Maize went coast to coast after Ethan Henson got him a quick outlet, and Dustin Hamilton came out of nowhere to pick someone’s wallet in the backcourt and cash it in to put the Shamrocks up 24-15.
Heath tried to carry Pattonsburg on his shoulders, but Andrew Craig hit a heavily guarded shot in the high post, Ryker Fortner cashed in off a Wyatt Maize steal, Andrew Craig hit a free throw, and Jensen Davis got a steal and drive to make it 31-18. Heath cashed in an NBA triple, only for Wyatt Maize to answer with one of his own after dribbling away from traffic at the first half buzzer to make it 34-21.
Brandon Heath managed to stop the bleeding for Pattonsburg in the third quarter, driving and going coast to coast every chance he could get as the margin stabilized between 13 and 16 for much of the period before hit two free throws cut it to 41-29 after three. From the early part of the second quarter to the end of the third, Heath had scored all of Pattonsburg’s 16 points.
Gavin Humphrey was the first Panther besides Heath to score for them to cut it to 41-31 to start the fourth, and Pattonsburg elected to start fouling early in the period. But North Harrison hit their free throws, making 15 of their 22 points from the line and only needing three shots from the field.
For North Harrison, Gage Fortner had 23. Wyatt Maize had 18, Jensen Davis 10, Andrew Craig 8, Dustin Hamilton 2, and Ryker Fortner 2.
Wyatt Maize had 2 blocks. Andrew Craig and Gage Fortner had 1.
Wyatt Maize had 9 rebounds. Gage Fortner had 8, Ethan Henson 6, Andrew Craig and Jensen Davis 4 each, Ryker Fortner 3, and Dustin Hamilton 2.
Wyatt Maize had 8 assists. Jensen Davis and Gage Fortner had 3, Ethan Henson 2, and Andrew Craig and Ryker Fortner had 1.
Wyatt Maize had 5 tips. Dustin Hamilton, Gage Fortner, and Jensen Davis had 2 and Andrew Craig had 1.
Wyatt Maize and Gage Fortner had 3 steals. Dustin Hamilton had 2, and Jensen Davis and Dustin Hamilton had 1.
Brandon Heath had 22 for Pattonsburg, Gavin Humphrey had 11.
That pitted them against Princeton, who had won handily over Union Star and Gilman City to get to the finals. The teams went blow for blow for most of the first quarter before Kash Holt scored from inside to give Princeton a 15-11 lead after one.
It looked like Princeton, who is ranked in the state, would pull away in this one after Chase Evans got red hot behind the arc, Hunter Lowery ran the floor at will, and North Harrison couldn’t keep up despite eight in the second from Gage Fortner and 5 from Wyatt Maize. By the time the dust had settled, Princeton was up 38-27 at the half.
When Lincoln Berndt got hot from behind the arc as well, hitting three triples in the first four minutes, it looked like North Harrison was finished. Princeton led by as much as 52-31 at the 3:34 mark of the third after Kash Holt hit a free throw, but then Gage Fortner suddenly found his second wind and went on one of his spurts where he scores points in bunches, going off for 11 points and three 3-pointers in the last 3:03. Jensen Davis added a half-court shot at the buzzer to get the Shamrock deficit down to 61-46.
Princeton turned to Mitchell Walker and got a pair of threes from Chase Evans to rebuild their lead to as much as 81-58 at one point, but North Harrison kept fighting until the end, getting two threes from Gage Fortner and one each from Jensen Davis and Wyatt Maize as they got it back down to 85-67 by the final buzzer.
Gage Fortner had a career high 30 for the Shamrocks. Jensen Davis had 14, Wyatt Maize 12, Andrew Craig 7, and Ryker Fortner and Dustin Hamilton with 2. Fortner’s outburst was the most by a Shamrock since 2024, when Jerry Gilpatrick scored 32 against South Harrison in North Harrison’s 67-61 win in the South Harrison Tournament, Ethan Henson had 12 assists that game.
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