The Harrisburg Bulldogs finished their season five points short and two hours from home in a disappointing loss at Canton, 65-60, in the Class 2 state quarterfinals on Friday.

It’s the second year in a row the Bulldogs were stopped in the quarterfinals on the road. Harrisburg concludes the season at 24-6, its best overall record since 2009 when the Bulldogs finished runners-up in the state.

Friday’s quarterfinal thriller was between evenly-matched teams, separated by only one point after three neck-and-neck quarters. Two ties and two lead changes highlighted an exhausting final stanza. Harrisburg tied the game at 58 apiece on a free throw from junior Rylee Robinson with 2:35 left to play. It would be the Bulldogs’ final basket for more than two minutes. Meanwhile, Canton pulled ahead by two with 42 seconds left. Both teams scrapped under the baskets on both ends, but it was the Tigers who came up with a loose ball with 19.3 seconds left.

Canton went on to convert five of six free-throw chances in the final 15.2 seconds to secure a trip to Mizzou Arena for the state semifinals.

“At the end of the game, they made a couple of plays. We had chances to do things offensively, and we turned it over a couple of times,” said Harrisburg coach Kyle Fisher. “I told our guys after the game. We took their best shot. Canton played a great ball game. It was more about what they did than what we didn’t do. We played well enough to win on both ends of the floor. They just played a little bit better.”

The Bulldogs had their hands full with Canton’s size. Senior Preston Brewer stands at 6’8, and classmate Bleu Taylor rises to 6’4. Fisher said the plan for Brewer was to double him as much as possible and prevent him from catching the ball. “If he does catch it, he’s really tough and really good,” he said. “Canton did a good job of doing some things to get him the basketball. We got a little bit out of character with what we talked about doing when he did catch the basketball. We went for his pump fakes and let him get some easy ones. In parts of the game, I thought we guarded him really well. In other parts, he was able to dominate.”

Brewer led Canton with 26 points on the night.

Canton’s size controlled the paint most of the night, limiting any second-chance opportunities for the Harrisburg offense. If that first shot didn’t go in, there was a better-than-average chance the Tigers would end up with the rebound, restricting the Bulldogs’ opportunities to apply their full-court pressure.

“That’s a big part of what our game has been all year. We are usually able to get on the offensive glass and get some easy points,” Fisher explained.

Offensive rebounding issues, coupled with early foul trouble, put the Bulldogs on their heels early in the first half. Senior Myals Thornhill drew the assignment against Brewer but was on and off the court with the foul count.

“In the first half, I don’t think we got any second-chance points,” said Fisher. “A part of that was Myals going out with two fouls. We had to go small. They put Brewer on Trace [Combs], which neutralized his offensive boards. All those things mixed together made it really tough for us to get any offensive rebounds. And they did get some second-chance points in the first half.”

Junior point guard Caleb Sager ended the first half on the bench after he was whistled for his third foul at 4:44 in the second quarter. He would eventually leave the floor for the final time this season with five fouls.

“It affected us a lot,” Fisher said about racking up fouls in the first two quarters. “Whenever [Thornhill] went to the bench, that hurt our size a little bit. Against Canton, with as big as they are, anytime you lose any size, that’s going to hurt you.”

Even with foul trouble and a size disparity, the difference in the game didn’t come from a 6’8 senior, but rather a 6’1 outside shooter. Junior Kaden Oliver netted five 3-point shots— four of which came in the second half—and 25 total points. It seemed as if every time Harrisburg would start to pull away, the Tigers would answer from the arc. 

Entering the fourth quarter ahead by one, Harrisburg outscored Canton 5-1 in the opening minute, finally going up by five on a three from senior Bryce Ott. The Tigers answered with a bucket from Brewer and back-to-back triples from Oliver and junior Drew Gottman to retake the lead at 58-55.

“He was the difference in the game,” Fisher said. “I thought if we could hold Brewer to what he had and neutralize everybody else a little bit, we would be in pretty good shape. We did that with the exception of Oliver. 

“Those were well-guarded shots. We had a hand in his face, and he did what good players do; he knocked them down.”

Harrisburg was able to tie the game but never retook the lead. The final bucket for the Bulldogs came from senior Trace Combs, who drove the length of the court for a final layup with six seconds left to cut the lead to two.

With Harrisburg forced to foul to stop the clock, Brewer sank three of four shots from the foul line in the final 5.3 seconds to secure the win.

“They just made a couple more plays than we did. In a game as tight as this between two great teams, usually, it just comes down to a couple of plays. I thought both teams played really well,” Fisher said.

Combs had an outstanding night in his final game in the red and white. He scored 19 of the team’s 28 first-half points, finishing with 30 on the night with three 3-pointers and a couple of dunks.

“He’s going to go down as one of the top five scores in Harrisburg history,” Fisher said. “He was a tremendous player for four years for us. I’m super thankful I got to coach him. He just got a little bit better each year and added things to his game. He went from a scorer to a playmaker to a leader.”

Combs surpassed 1,500 career points a few weeks prior. He leads a cadre of six seniors who finished high school with a four-year varsity record of 82 wins against 37 losses and two district titles.

“What a great senior class. They mean a lot to Harrisburg basketball. They’re definitely one of the better senior classes to go through here.”

Ott finished his high school career with three shots from the arc, adding nine points to the scorebook. Fisher said the scrappy senior made a mark last season, earning All-District and All-Conference honors. “He’ll be the same again this year. Nobody, pound for pound, gets more out of his body than he does. He’s a fighter. He’s scrappy. He’s strong for his size. He can really knock down some shots.”

Another starter who rose through the varsity ranks last year was Thornhill, often assigned to defend the opposing team’s larger players. “He’s undersized pretty much every night, but he battles his tail off. I’m super proud of him,” said Fisher.

Two other seniors were key players off the bench this season. Sam Katsaros was crucial to the Bulldogs winning the district title, sinking key 3-point buckets in both the semifinals and finals. Ike Demuth scored eight points in Harrisburg’s win over Slater in the state sections the Monday before.

“Those guys are great examples of what it’s like to work your way through a program,” Fisher said. “They were not even on the varsity team as sophomores. They made the varsity team last year but didn’t really have any varsity roles. They stayed with it and didn’t quit. They worked hard every day and ended up having big moments this year. We don’t get to this point without those two guys.”

Harrisburg’s final senior was unable to take the court this season due to a knee injury sustained in football season. But Aiden Grindstaff didn’t abandon the team, instead serving as manager.

“Aiden would’ve been right there in the rotation. I’m glad he came along for the ride.”

While missing out on the chance to play for a state title certainly stings, the Bulldogs still put together an outstanding season. With the football team advancing deep into the playoffs, Fisher and the Bulldogs didn’t have a complete varsity team on the hardwood until it was time to compete in the Glasgow Tournament. But they didn’t miss a beat, securing the first tournament title in four years while opening the season 10-1.

The Bulldogs were ranked as high as No. 4 this season and only lost to two Class 2 teams all year, both ranked, one of which boasted a No. 1 ranking.

“It’s hard right now because our goal was to get to the final four and try to win a state title. But it doesn’t take away from what these guys accomplished this year,” Fisher said after the game. “Twenty-four wins. The Glasgow tournament title. Back-to-back district championships. Back-to-back quarterfinal appearances. Unfortunately, we had to go on the road two years in a row. That’s hard to do. These guys have nothing to hang their heads about. They had a tremendous season, and the seniors had a terrific four years. I’m really going to miss them.”

Despite losing a strong senior class, Fisher and the Bulldogs have a bright future with five varsity players returning for the senior season next year. Rylee Robinson and Caleb Sager both started for Harrisburg this season. Robinson scored 10 points in Friday’s game, and Sager finished with seven points. Another junior, Bender Wardrip, saw consistent varsity time this season. He added two points in Friday’s quarterfinal. Classmate Chase Gray, at 6’2, will work to earn more varsity time next season as the Bulldogs work to defend their district titles.

Canton’s five-point win on Friday advances the Tigers, now 24-5 overall, to the state semifinals. They face Puxico (27-3) at 6 p.m. tonight (Wednesday) in the semifinals at Mizzou Arena. The winner will play for the state title at 8 p.m. on Thursday. The other will tip off for third place at 2 p.m. Thursday.