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It wasn't the prettiest win in the world, but the Murphysboro Red Devils will take it.
The Red Devils got 24 points from Pierre House, and went just 12-for-25 from the free-throw line on their way to a 50-47 victory over Waterloo last Saturday night in the championship game of the Sparta Mid-Winter Classic.
"They find a way to win, don't they?'' Murphysboro coach Daryl Murphy said of his team. "We got out of (Sparta) with a win."
It was a win that wasn't certain until the final horn sounded.
Waterloo led, 26-25, at halftime before Murphysboro (15-5) opened the second half with a 9-2 run to seize control.
Zane Heller got the run started when he scored in the lane 35 seconds into the second half. Mitch Maloney followed with a 3-pointer to give the Red Devils a 29-25 advantage.
Waterloo's Shane Lenhardt countered with a pair of free throws to make it 29-27, but House drilled a 3-pointer, then hit a free throw with 4:44 left in the third period to give Murphysboro a 33-27 lead.
A three-point play by House made it 36-29 later in the third quarter, a bucket by Kevin Gude and another three-point play by House pushed Murphysboro's lead to 41-31 at the 1:29 mark of the third period.
The Red Devils led, 42-33, early in the fourth quarter before Waterloo started to rally.
The Bulldogs closed to within four points at 45-41 following Jared Lengacher's 16-footer with 2:18 remaining in the contest.
Gude would give Murphysboro a five-point lead when he made a free throw with 1:45 left. But Justin Kretchmer's three-point play with 1:36 remaining pulled Waterloo to within two points at 46-44.
After getting within two, Waterloo began to foul.
The Bulldogs sent Heller to the line with 1:05 left in the game, and he missed a pair of charity shots. Waterloo wasn't able to capitalize, though, as it turned the ball over on its next possession.
The Bulldogs then fouled Heller again, and once again he missed both foul shots. The call was an intentional foul, which gave the Red Devils possession after the two misses by Heller.
The Red Devils inbounded the ball and Maloney was fouled. He went to the line and sank one free throw to give Murphysboro a 47-44 lead with 36.5 seconds remaining.
Following another Waterloo turnover, Brant Hill was sent to the charity stripe. He was only able to make 1-of-2 attempts, but it made it a two possession game at 48-44 with 25.6 ticks left on the clock.
Kyle Miller would hit a pair of free throws with 12.3 seconds remaining to give Murphysboro a 50-45 lead, and Lengacher would score for Waterloo with five seconds remaining to make it a three-point game at 50-47.
Following a Waterloo timeout, Hill was fouled once again. He went to the line and missed two free throws and Waterloo grabbed the rebound on the second miss.
But the Bulldogs could only get a 60-foot heave by Daniel Gardner, which was off the mark, as time expired.
Murphysboro's victory can be attributed, in part, to a minor adjustment at halftime.
"We were taking too many quick shots in the first half,'' Murphy said. "We weren't running our sets.
"(At halftime) we just talked about how we needed to do what we do. Once we did that we started scoring pretty easily on them."
Waterloo's strategy was obvious from the beginning, get the ball inside to its big men.
"They've just got so much size,'' Murphy said. "We've done a pretty good job this year of guarding one big man. But guarding two... That can give you some fits. It sure did in this game."
Still, the Red Devils were able to survive behind House's big game.
"(Pierre) has been awful good,'' Murphy said. "This has been his year to shine, and he's stepped up and done it."
House and Mitchell Rose were named first-team all-tournament.
Murphysboro advanced to the championship game by beating Red Bud, 54-47, last Thursday to finish pool play with a perfect mark of 3-0.
A 13-0 run to start the second quarter helped Murphysboro claim a 32-16 advantage at halftime.
The Musketeers, though, would go on a 9-2 spurt to close out the third quarter to pull within nine points at 40-31.
Red Bud would get as close as six points three times in the fourth quarter, the last time coming with 15 seconds remaining in the game, but could never get any closer.
It wasn't the prettiest win in the world, but the Murphysboro Red Devils will take it.
The Red Devils got 24 points from Pierre House, and went just 12-for-25 from the free-throw line on their way to a 50-47 victory over Waterloo last Saturday night in the championship game of the Sparta Mid-Winter Classic.
"They find a way to win, don't they?'' Murphysboro coach Daryl Murphy said of his team. "We got out of (Sparta) with a win."
It was a win that wasn't certain until the final horn sounded.
Waterloo led, 26-25, at halftime before Murphysboro (15-5) opened the second half with a 9-2 run to seize control.
Zane Heller got the run started when he scored in the lane 35 seconds into the second half. Mitch Maloney followed with a 3-pointer to give the Red Devils a 29-25 advantage.
Waterloo's Shane Lenhardt countered with a pair of free throws to make it 29-27, but House drilled a 3-pointer, then hit a free throw with 4:44 left in the third period to give Murphysboro a 33-27 lead.
A three-point play by House made it 36-29 later in the third quarter, a bucket by Kevin Gude and another three-point play by House pushed Murphysboro's lead to 41-31 at the 1:29 mark of the third period.
The Red Devils led, 42-33, early in the fourth quarter before Waterloo started to rally.
The Bulldogs closed to within four points at 45-41 following Jared Lengacher's 16-footer with 2:18 remaining in the contest.
Gude would give Murphysboro a five-point lead when he made a free throw with 1:45 left. But Justin Kretchmer's three-point play with 1:36 remaining pulled Waterloo to within two points at 46-44.
After getting within two, Waterloo began to foul.
The Bulldogs sent Heller to the line with 1:05 left in the game, and he missed a pair of charity shots. Waterloo wasn't able to capitalize, though, as it turned the ball over on its next possession.
The Bulldogs then fouled Heller again, and once again he missed both foul shots. The call was an intentional foul, which gave the Red Devils possession after the two misses by Heller.
The Red Devils inbounded the ball and Maloney was fouled. He went to the line and sank one free throw to give Murphysboro a 47-44 lead with 36.5 seconds remaining.
Following another Waterloo turnover, Brant Hill was sent to the charity stripe. He was only able to make 1-of-2 attempts, but it made it a two possession game at 48-44 with 25.6 ticks left on the clock.
Kyle Miller would hit a pair of free throws with 12.3 seconds remaining to give Murphysboro a 50-45 lead, and Lengacher would score for Waterloo with five seconds remaining to make it a three-point game at 50-47.
Following a Waterloo timeout, Hill was fouled once again. He went to the line and missed two free throws and Waterloo grabbed the rebound on the second miss.
But the Bulldogs could only get a 60-foot heave by Daniel Gardner, which was off the mark, as time expired.
Murphysboro's victory can be attributed, in part, to a minor adjustment at halftime.
"We were taking too many quick shots in the first half,'' Murphy said. "We weren't running our sets.
"(At halftime) we just talked about how we needed to do what we do. Once we did that we started scoring pretty easily on them."
Waterloo's strategy was obvious from the beginning, get the ball inside to its big men.
"They've just got so much size,'' Murphy said. "We've done a pretty good job this year of guarding one big man. But guarding two... That can give you some fits. It sure did in this game."
Still, the Red Devils were able to survive behind House's big game.
"(Pierre) has been awful good,'' Murphy said. "This has been his year to shine, and he's stepped up and done it."
House and Mitchell Rose were named first-team all-tournament.
Murphysboro advanced to the championship game by beating Red Bud, 54-47, last Thursday to finish pool play with a perfect mark of 3-0.
A 13-0 run to start the second quarter helped Murphysboro claim a 32-16 advantage at halftime.
The Musketeers, though, would go on a 9-2 spurt to close out the third quarter to pull within nine points at 40-31.
Red Bud would get as close as six points three times in the fourth quarter, the last time coming with 15 seconds remaining in the game, but could never get any closer.
