Injury to Morgan takes toll on Girard

The senior had his nose broken in the first minute of the game.
By GEORGE WELKER
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CANTON -- A small trail of blood -- just dots really -- covering one end of the court quickly foretold what the future held for Girard High Wednesday.
In less than half a minute of play in the Division III regional semifinal at Canton Memorial Fieldhouse, the Indians lost senior leader Greg Morgan to a broken nose in their battle with Villa Angela-St. Joe's.
Later, Girard found itself on the short end of a 58-36 defeat, and out of the tournament.
"Our players hung in there and did a nice job," said Girard coach Mike DelBene. "I guess it's like losing your starting quarterback, the second team doesn't get many reps."
Injury: Morgan went down with 7 minutes, 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter and no score yet in the game. Trainers worked on his nose throughout the first half, but Morgan didn't return from the locker room until after halftime.
The injury occurred when Morgan and VA-SJ's Reggie Harwell sought a loose ball. Morgan was swatted across the nose and had to leave the game by the time he reached the other end of the court.
He didn't return to the game until 5:30 remained in the third quarter.
"We lose 15 points off the bat there, and we don't score that many to begin with," DelBene said. "Obviously, that hurt us."
DelBene applauded the work of Morgan's replacements, however, noting that the biggest change was moving junior Randy Mason to point guard in Morgan's absence.
"I still had hope that we could win," Mason said of taking over for the missing leader. He added that the team's confidence grew as long the Indians hung around the Vikings.
Keeping it close: Despite losing Morgan, Girard stayed close to VA-SJ throughout the first half. The Vikings built a 13-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, and led by as much as 26-14, but Girard pulled within 26-20 at halftime.
Mason led Girard with 15 points. Jason Collins was next with six.
Mason said Girard got an emotional boost when Morgan returned from the locker room after halftime, but that didn't translate into any points.
The Vikings' taller lineup began to work its power inside in the third quarter.
"If I was their coach at halftime, I would have said throw the ball inside," DelBene said. "They have four big guys, we had one. They went to their power game. Every set they ran, we knew. Knowing it is one thing, stopping it is another."
Turning point: That translated to a 14-5 run by the Vikings in the third, giving VA-SJ a 40-25 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
DelBene said the turning point was early in the third quarter, when the Indians trailed 28-22, then missed an open 3-point shot. VA-SJ then went on an 8-0 run for a 36-22 advantage.
"They came out in the second half and they were on a mission," DelBene said. "They took the ball inside on us, and that was our weakness."
VA-SJ coach Dave Wojciechowski said, "We gambled a little too much in the first half, we took some chances and guys got by us because we were reaching and doing some things we shouldn't be doing.
"We told them to play more straight up in the second half and don't gamble. I thought we got some good buckets by scoring inside."
VA-SJ dominated the boards, pulling in 32 rebounds, compared to Girard's 16. Harwell led the Vikings with eight caroms, while also chipping in with 10 points. Frank Caputo, Mason and Chris Simmons each pulled in four rebounds for the Indians.
The Vikings were led by Jason Hicks' 12 points.