Niles forces Girard fizzle
Dave Soda and Bill Sullivan combined for 42 points in the Red Dragons' victory.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
GIRARD -- Dave Soda has plenty of offensive "pop."
The 6-foot, 4-inch senior center from Niles scored 18 points and watched as the Girard offense went flat in a 61-49 Red Dragons win Tuesday at Girard High School.
"Our game plan was to pound the ball inside," Soda said. "We did pretty well and we rebounded well until I went out with some foul trouble."
When Soda sat, Red Dragons senior guard Bill Sullivan picked up the slack, pouring in a game-high 24 points.
Sullivan and Soda hit 7-of-10 fourth quarter free throws to seal the victory.
Expected battle: "We knew that when you play Girard, it's going to be a dog-fight," Niles coach Ron Price said. "They made a run and we answered it. Good teams like Girard don't go away."
Niles (2-0) led 50-34 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but Girard quickly went on a 10-2 run -- keyed by eight points from senior Randy Mason.
Then Girard went cold. Ice cold.
The Indians (1-1) shot just 2-for-17 the rest of the way -- including a 3-pointer by Bob Prodnick in the final seconds -- and watched as Niles sank 9-of-13 free throws in the final period.
"We live and die on the perimeter," Girard coach Mike DelBene said. "In our first game against McDonald, we hit those shots. Niles is a little taller and quicker. We have to find some kind of inside presence to free up our shots."
The Red Dragons began the game with an 8-0 run -- thanks to two 3-point plays by Soda and a jumper by Sullivan. But Girard answered with a 12-6 run, and trimmed the lead to 16-12 at the end of the first.
Sullivan scored 10 points in the second quarter as Niles stretched its lead to 33-25 at halftime. Girard junior Elliott Steverson struggled with early foul trouble -- a problem that only got worse for the Indians.
Girard quickly picked up five fouls in the first four minutes of the third quarter, which forced Steverson, Mason and Dustin Helle to the bench.
Niles did its biggest damage in the third, outscoring Girard 17-9, and got scores from five different players.
"We do share the basketball," Price said. "We preach to our shooters to take the open shot if they get it. That's real important to our program and hopefully we'll keep getting better offensively."
Contributors: Vince Gatta had seven points and Tyler Spencer and Jason Shelton added six each for Niles.
The Red Dragons start five seniors, but only one (Soda) is taller than 6-2. Junior Tim Rupert (6-2) is out with a leg injury, and will provide an offensive boost when he returns.
"We're getting better," Price said. "We struggled with our foul shooting in the fourth quarter. That was probably the biggest disappointment."
Niles shot 18-of-32 (56 percent) for the game, and was 21-of-29 from (72 percent) from the foul line. Girard shot just 35 percent (19-55) from the field and was just 6-of-13 (46 percent) from the foul line.
Mason led Girard with 12 points, and Greg Cook added 11 points. Walter Jones had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Indians.
"We gave up too many second and third shots," DelBene said. "We did a nice job contesting the first shots, but we didn't do a good job boxing out."
Girard has just two players with varsity experience from last season -- Mason and Jones -- and will experience some growing pains, DelBene said.
"Once we get some games under our belt, we'll get better," DelBene said.
scalzo@vindy.com