HARRISON WINS PAIR IN HOME OPENER

The student section was ready for the first senior high games of the season at Goblin Arena. Harrison hosted Batesville Southside on Tuesday night for senior girls and boys basketball action. The Lady Goblins cruised to a 71-41 win over the Lady Southerners. The Goblins won their match in a tight battle, 46-38. advertisement Senior Girls The Lady Goblins ran away with the lead early on their way to a 71-41 non-conference win at home. Midway through the first quarter, Caroline Cecil grabbed a rebound for the Lady Goblins that led to a trey from Sydney Shrum on the left wing to put Harrison ahead, 11-8. On the next possession, Brylie Parker tried her hand from behind the arc in the left corner and sank the shot to begin a 12-3 run to close out the first quarter with a 23-11 Lady Goblin lead. The Lady Southerners struck first in the second half with a 3-pointer. Harrison’s next score came from an inbound play where Shrum found teammate Kenzie Parker cutting to the basket for an easy layup. Cecil followed up with a trey on the next set. Parker then hit her second triple of the game from the left wing off the glass. The next defensive play for Harrison featured Marion Groberg intercepting a pass and kicking the ball ahead to Maggie Salmon in transition for a layup. Southside tried to battle back from the free throw line in the closing minutes of the half but Harrison’s next three plays resulted in another trey from Parker, a Parker inbound to Groberg under the basket and a driving layup from Parker to close out the first half with a 42-25 Harrison lead. The Lady Goblins came out of halftime looking to build on their lead. Harrison held the Lady Southerners to just seven points in the third. Parker found Cecil in transition get things rolling in the third. After Southside’s first bucket of the second half, Parker added to her point total with a triple from the right corner for the Lady Goblins. Harrison sophomore MacKenzie Dillon finished the third period with a 3-pointer from the right wing and an offensive putback just before the buzzer. Harrison entered the final period with a 55-32 edge. Cecil opened the fourth with a trey from the top of the key for Harrison. Groberg was fouled on a drive during the next possession and hit both freebies. Shayne Gilliam then got in the game and went right to work for the Lady Goblins. Gilliam scored on an offensive putback and then worked the ball down low for another score and one. Salmon dished out an assist on the next play to Gilliam in the low post. Twenty-seconds later, Salmon hit a jumper from the right elbow. Gilliam finished the game with an offensive putback in the closing seconds and the Lady Goblins closed out the game with a 30-point win over Southside, 71-41. Parker led the game with 18 points for Harrison. Kenzie Parker, Marion Groberg, and Shayne Gilliam finished with nine points. Shrum added eight, Caroline Cecil seven, MacKenzie Dillon five, Maggie Salmon four and Makayla Campbell two. Senior Boys The Goblins tough defense in the final period helped Harrison to a come-from-behind win at home over Southside, 46-38. Harrison was down, 33-30, entering the fourth quarter. Pressure defense from the Goblins led to Ben Elliott getting a steal and finding Carson Journagan who attacked the basket and was fouled. Journagan made the front end of the foul shots and the Goblin press continued. After a block on the other end, Journagan went the distance for a layup. Harrison’s next play was an inbound pass from Elliott under the goal to Jacob Shrum for a short jumper to take a 35-33 lead. Elliott then scored on a mid-range jumper. With 1:22 remaining, Jayce Martin posted up on the block and sank a short shot while drawing the foul. Martin hit the freebie to complete the three-point play. Southside hit a three to get within four of Harrison and started fouling. Dustin Gundry hit both of his free throws with 29.2 remaining. Southside scored on a quick drive and sent Harrison back to the line. Elliott then sank a pair of free throws to keep the lead at six points. With time running down, Southside attempted a three that clanged off the rim and the rebound created a pile of players. Shrum came out of the pile with the ball for Harrison. He found Journagan wide open at halfcourt cutting to the rim all alone for a two-handed dunk just before time expired. The first quarter was a heavy dose of Journagan and Elliott assisting to each other. Harrison had an 11-8 edge entering the second quarter. Gundry hit a trey in the second from the left wing and then Martin assisted to Journagan on the block for a Goblin score. Those five points were part of a 12-5 run that Southside pulled together in the final 6-minutes of the first half to take a 22-20 lead over Harrison at intermission. Both teams scored eight points in the third quarter after Journagan grabbed an offensive rebound and hit a short field goal just before the third period ended. With the win, Harrison moves to 2-0 on the season and will play again on Thursday in the Willard Tournament at Willard, Mo. Journagan finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in the Goblin win. Elliott scored 15 points, Martin seven, Gundry five and Shrum two.

HARRISON WINS PAIR IN HOME OPENER

RODNEY BEAVER

Harrison Daily Times | 11/29/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Jeff Brasel