“Four-Peat”, that was the goal for Coach Sayler Shurtz and the varsity Tigers heading into the 60th Annual Eldorado Holiday Tournament (EHT). The Eldorado Holiday Tournament happens every year on Dec. 26 – 28. It consists of 26 teams, all with the same goal, to play in the championship game at 9 p.m. on Dec. 28.
Herrin has been lucky enough to achieve this goal for the past three years against Massac County, during which the Tigers have defeated them every single time. Favored by the seeding committee, Herrin received the one seed coming into the tournament, putting them at the top of the bracket. Following them in seeding was Carterville, Vienna, Harrisburg, Massac County, Carmi, Fairfield and Hamilton County. Other teams in the tournament that did not receive a seeding were: Carrier Mills, Anna Jonesboro, Edwards County, Norris City-Omaha-Enfield (NCOE), Hardin County, West Frankfort, Eldorado and Gallatin County.
Herrin played their first game of the tournament on Dec. 26 at 8:30 a.m. against Carrier Mills. Herrin was by far the stronger team, and they proved that after a dominating 85-18 win.
This sent Herrin to the quarter finals on Dec. 27, where they faced Anna Jonesboro after they upset Hamilton County. Herrin took care of business following the 66-53 win.
The semi-finals led Herrin to a river-to-river matchup with the Harrisburg Bulldogs. This was a close game at the start, but Herrin pulled through and finished strong with a 59-41 win.
At this point in the tournament, Herrin was being favored as champions, but they had to get the job done in the championship. Awaiting their competition, Carterville and Vienna faced off on the opposing side of the bracket. Carterville defeated Vienna 46-42, sending Vienna to the consultation bracket, where they played Harrisburg for third place.
Now that the stage was set, Herrin was ready to take on Carterville for a River-to-River matchup in the championship. This was the fourth River-to-River championship matchup in a row, following the Tigers facing Massac County for the past 3 years. Herrin had previously played Carterville on their home court for Herrin’s first conference matchup. Herrin scored 56, while Carterville fell short with only 49 points, showing that Herrin is fully able to take care of business again and take home first place for the fourth year in a row.
(Photography, Emmarie Bires)
Coming into the championship game on Dec. 28, every single seat in Duff Kingston Gymnasium was filled, and the energy was there. Rajion Price (12) stated: “The energy in the gym was awesome, and it honestly felt like a home game with how many fans showed up and cheered.”
He was right: many Herrin fans took pride in their team and made the 48-minute drive to watch them. Coming off the bench for the Tigers at the start of the game were seniors Grady Cox, Jared Staple, Kyrese Lukens, Madox Billingsley and Chance Estes. Starting the game off strong, Grady put up the first 2 points and got the foul, sending him to the free throw line, where he drained the bucket, sending the Tigers to a 3-point lead over Carterville.
Throughout the rest of the first quarter, the Lions and Tigers went back and forth on baskets. With around one minute left in the first quarter, Herrin subbed in Jaxton Faulkenberry (10). Faulkenberry shared after the game: “In regard to my performance, I come off the bench knowing my role and bringing energy is a big factor to my game. When I get in, I don’t try to do too much but be ready to shoot and bring lots of energy.” Jaxton did just that and he added 6 points to the Tigers’ total.
Ending the first quarter with a score of 15-13, Lions’ lead, the back and forth scoring between both teams continued throughout the second quarter, but the Lions still led 28-27, heading to the locker room for half time.
With 16 minutes left of playing time over 2 quarters, Tigers had possession following half. Just like the start of the game, both teams trailed each other till there were around six minutes left in the quarter. Chance Estes started the roll for the Tigers with a 3-point basket. Shortly thereafter he got a steal, which went to Jared Staple, who added another 3 points to the board.
In this moment, the Tigers not only got momentum going, but so did the fans. The crowd in the gym erupted as they chanted, and players showed emotion with small celebrations.
Even with all of the momentum from the Tigers, they still followed the Lions with the 44-41 score heading into the last eight minutes of playing time. Quickly into the final quarter, Kyrese Lukens, reigning Eldorado Holiday Tournament MVP, proved himself. Lukens drove to the basket for 2 points, where he was sent to the line, scoring 2 more. On the following possession, Lukens drove again for 2 more points on the board, and the Tigers were up by 3 points over the Lions.
At this point of the game, the Tigers were starting to find their way as almost the entire gym was cheering for Herrin. Now at the halfway point of the final quarter, Lukens got momentum again after a 3 point basket from behind the arc. Grady blocked the basket from the Lions’ next possession, and Lukens sent it from the three point line. The Tigers now had an 8 point lead.
Herrin only continued to build a lead. With one minute and 36 seconds remaining and 12 points ahead of the Lions, the Tigers put in Tanner Hall (10), Harper Shoemaker (11), Jackson Wade (10), Jamonta Mcknight (10) and JJ Gwaltney (9). The Tigers officially achieved their goal of winning the championship four years in a row after a final score of 61-50 over the Carterville Lions. Carter McCree, another senior member that provided defense for the Tigers, shared: “It was a great team effort all the way from the starters to the end of the bench throughout the game. The energy of the game is an experience very few ever get to have, and I am glad I got to share that memory with all these guys.”
After winning the tournament four years in a row, it is all the seniors have known since being a part of the team. But with that, Herrin was a targeted team throughout the entire tournament as many teams wanted to take them down. Herrin joins the Harrisburg Bulldogs as being the only teams to have won four years consecutively. Following all 4 wins in the tournament, the varsity Tigers season record extends to 13-1.
Post game, the nets were taken down and the trophy was awarded to the team. Senior Jared Staple was named to the All-Tournament Team. Staple, a new and extremely influential addition to the HHS Basketball Team this year has quickly made his mark. Being Jared’s first time competing in the tournament (during which he scored 23 points), he shared: “The game in the first half was going back and forth and at halftime we were down by one, but then in the second half we turned it up a notch. I am glad to be a part of this team, especially in a big tournament. We have one of the best backcourt guards of southern Illinois. I want to give a shoutout to Ky, he helps a lot when I am struggling and tells me to keep my head up and get going. It feels good to be named All-Tournament Team for my first year in the EHT. I’m glad and I love these boys.”
Teammate Kyrese Lukens, a reigning EHT MVP, claimed the title again this year. After having 19 points in the championship game and getting the team their lead, he proved more than enough to earn it again.
Head Coach Sayler Shurtz holds his team to a high standard and with that comes success. Shurtz shared: “These three days at Eldorado were great for our team. Coming in we had a big target on our back after winning 3. We experienced large leads, small leads, and being down in the later parts of the game, but we came out on top and made the plays when we needed to. We have an important stretch of basketball coming up, so we hope to extend this stretch of good basketball that we are playing.”
The important stretch of basketball Coach Shurtz is talking about are the games ahead, when Herrin takes on the Mt. Vernon Rams, a fellow 3A Team, on Friday Jan. 3 for Alumni Night, and strong 2A team the Pinckneyville Panthers on Jan. 8. If the Tigers were to claim both of these as wins, Herrin will become one of the most dominant basketball teams in all of southern Illinois.
