Dylan Craig hit 3-pointers and finished with 18 points, and Dre Shean Payne scored 20 on Tuesday night as Murphysboro won a rugged battle over Harrisburg, 67-43, in one semifinal of the Herrin Class 2A Sectional.
With the win, the Red Devils move on to the championship game, where they will meet either Du Quoin or Pinckneyville at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
It was probably good that Murphysboro got to play on Tuesday night instead of Wednesday. The Red Devils will need that extra day of rest to recover from a game that saw around 50 fouls, four players foul out, and 64 free throws taken.
Murphysboro held a 26-21 halftime lead, but went to the charity stripe just eight times over the first two quarters of play. Harrisburg had just four field goals in the first half, but stayed close by going 12-19 from the free-throw line.
"I thought we had a great defensive performance,'' said Murphysboro coach Daryl Murphy said. "We held them to four field goals in the first half, but we can't guard them at the foul line.
"We just got into foul trouble. It's not the first time that has happened to us. We fouled the shooters a little bit too much."
Clinging to the five-point lead at the break, Murphysboro would once again come out and take control once the second half got underway.
Eben Brooks got the Red Devils, who improved to 28-2 and set a new school record for most wins a season, off to a solid start in the third quarter when snagged an offensive rebound and scored. Just a few second later, Brooks would take a pass from Jerrod Gaston for a layup. He was fouled on the play and completed the three-point play to give Murphysboro a 31-21 lead with 7:14 remaining in the third period.
Craig would strike from long distance 37 seconds later to make it 34-21, and Gaston scored at the 5:33 mark of the third to push the advantage to 36-21.
Payne's free throw with 3:59 to go in the frame stretched Murphysboro's lead to 16 points at 37-21. It was also the end of a 12-0 spurt by the Red Devils.
"Eben gave us a big lift right out of the gate for us,'' Murphy said. "And Dylan knocked down a big 3."
"I thought we kept our heads and executed when we needed to."
After starting the second half with the huge run, Murphysboro was able to maintain a comfortable advantage and took a 44-30 lead in the fourth quarter.
But that lead was cut in half just two minutes into the fourth period.
A three-point play by Cain Sheldon made it 44-33 12 seconds into the final quarter of play.
Craig responded to that, though, with a 3-pointer, his fourth of the contest, to push Murphysboro's lead back to 14 points at 47-33.
"Dylan hit some huge 3's,'' Murphy said. "It sure did help.
"Every time they got it close we rolled him out off of a pick and he knocked the 3 down. We just put that play in on Sunday."
Sheldon would follow Craig's trey with back-to-back buckets to make it 47-37, and Reid Roper hit three free throws to make it 47-40 with 6:05 left.
That would be as close as the Bulldogs (24-8) would get, though.
Pierre House scored three straight points to push Murphysboro's advantage back to 10 points at 50-40 with 4:59 remaining, and following a basket by Sheldon, Craig scored off an offensive rebound, and Gaston knocked down two charity shots to make it 54-42 with 4:12 left.
Harrisburg was able to hang around for the rest of the game, but the Red Devils would go 11-for-14 from free-throw line over the last three minutes to seal the victory.
Murphysboro looked like it might run away with the game in the early going, as it grabbed a 17-4 lead after one period of play.
But Harrisburg went to a zone in the second half. Put that together with mounting foul trouble for the Red Devils, which forced Murphy to use a zone defense, and the Bulldogs were able to close the gap.
The Bulldogs trailed, 26-15, with 3:15 left in the second quarter, then scored the final six points of the period to pull within five points at the break.
"There was no flow to the game in that second quarter,'' Murphy said. "They went to the free-throw line, then played a zone us.
"There was no good flow to the game in the first half. As a fan I would have hated watching that game. You'd play for 15 seconds then stop. Then you'd play for 15 seconds then stop. As a team that likes to run, and having to go to a zone, I thought our kids got a little bit frustrated with what was going on."
But that all changed once the second half began, and the Red Devils pulled away for the win.
Gaston also finished in double figures for the Red Devils, scoring 13 points.
Sheldon led Harrisburg with a game-high 23 points. Lucas Elverd finished with 16 points.
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Dylan Craig hit 3-pointers and finished with 18 points, and Dre Shean Payne scored 20 on Tuesday night as Murphysboro won a rugged battle over Harrisburg, 67-43, in one semifinal of the Herrin Class 2A Sectional.
With the win, the Red Devils move on to the championship game, where they will meet either Du Quoin or Pinckneyville at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
It was probably good that Murphysboro got to play on Tuesday night instead of Wednesday. The Red Devils will need that extra day of rest to recover from a game that saw around 50 fouls, four players foul out, and 64 free throws taken.
Murphysboro held a 26-21 halftime lead, but went to the charity stripe just eight times over the first two quarters of play. Harrisburg had just four field goals in the first half, but stayed close by going 12-19 from the free-throw line.
"I thought we had a great defensive performance,'' said Murphysboro coach Daryl Murphy said. "We held them to four field goals in the first half, but we can't guard them at the foul line.
"We just got into foul trouble. It's not the first time that has happened to us. We fouled the shooters a little bit too much."
Clinging to the five-point lead at the break, Murphysboro would once again come out and take control once the second half got underway.
Eben Brooks got the Red Devils, who improved to 28-2 and set a new school record for most wins a season, off to a solid start in the third quarter when snagged an offensive rebound and scored. Just a few second later, Brooks would take a pass from Jerrod Gaston for a layup. He was fouled on the play and completed the three-point play to give Murphysboro a 31-21 lead with 7:14 remaining in the third period.
Craig would strike from long distance 37 seconds later to make it 34-21, and Gaston scored at the 5:33 mark of the third to push the advantage to 36-21.
Payne's free throw with 3:59 to go in the frame stretched Murphysboro's lead to 16 points at 37-21. It was also the end of a 12-0 spurt by the Red Devils.
"Eben gave us a big lift right out of the gate for us,'' Murphy said. "And Dylan knocked down a big 3."
"I thought we kept our heads and executed when we needed to."
After starting the second half with the huge run, Murphysboro was able to maintain a comfortable advantage and took a 44-30 lead in the fourth quarter.
But that lead was cut in half just two minutes into the fourth period.
A three-point play by Cain Sheldon made it 44-33 12 seconds into the final quarter of play.
Craig responded to that, though, with a 3-pointer, his fourth of the contest, to push Murphysboro's lead back to 14 points at 47-33.
"Dylan hit some huge 3's,'' Murphy said. "It sure did help.
"Every time they got it close we rolled him out off of a pick and he knocked the 3 down. We just put that play in on Sunday."
Sheldon would follow Craig's trey with back-to-back buckets to make it 47-37, and Reid Roper hit three free throws to make it 47-40 with 6:05 left.
That would be as close as the Bulldogs (24-8) would get, though.
Pierre House scored three straight points to push Murphysboro's advantage back to 10 points at 50-40 with 4:59 remaining, and following a basket by Sheldon, Craig scored off an offensive rebound, and Gaston knocked down two charity shots to make it 54-42 with 4:12 left.
Harrisburg was able to hang around for the rest of the game, but the Red Devils would go 11-for-14 from free-throw line over the last three minutes to seal the victory.
Murphysboro looked like it might run away with the game in the early going, as it grabbed a 17-4 lead after one period of play.
But Harrisburg went to a zone in the second half. Put that together with mounting foul trouble for the Red Devils, which forced Murphy to use a zone defense, and the Bulldogs were able to close the gap.
The Bulldogs trailed, 26-15, with 3:15 left in the second quarter, then scored the final six points of the period to pull within five points at the break.
"There was no flow to the game in that second quarter,'' Murphy said. "They went to the free-throw line, then played a zone us.
"There was no good flow to the game in the first half. As a fan I would have hated watching that game. You'd play for 15 seconds then stop. Then you'd play for 15 seconds then stop. As a team that likes to run, and having to go to a zone, I thought our kids got a little bit frustrated with what was going on."
But that all changed once the second half began, and the Red Devils pulled away for the win.
Gaston also finished in double figures for the Red Devils, scoring 13 points.
Sheldon led Harrisburg with a game-high 23 points. Lucas Elverd finished with 16 points.
