DIVISION I Dismal shooting dooms Harding

The second-seeded Raiders were eliminated by Brush.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CLEVELAND -- Right from the start, it seemed like the Warren Harding High boys basketball team had no shot against Brush.
The second-seeded Raiders (19-4) shot a dismal 27 percent (17-of-62) from the field in dropping a 67-46 decision to the third-seeded Arcs in a Division I district semifinal game at Cleveland South High School on Thursday night.
"That has to be our lowest shooting percentage of the year in a game you don't want to shoot poorly in," Warren Harding coach Garry Rowland said. "We could never get in a flow."
The Arcs (17-5) jumped on Warren Harding early and never let up. Their defense forced the Raiders into numerous turnovers and their inside strength limited Warren Harding to just one shot offensively most trips down the court.
"[Brush] played some good defense but that doesn't excuse some of the point blank layups we missed with no one on us," Rowland said. "When you miss shots like that, it kind of stuns you and we seemed to be on our heels a lot of the time."
Foul trouble: Warren Harding was also hampered by an early injury and foul trouble to 6-foot-6 senior Shelby Chaney.
Chaney picked up his third foul with 7:37 remaining in the second quarter and after that, Brush was able to control the paint.
The Arcs exploited Warren Harding's lack of height and turned a 10-8 first quarter lead into a 28-12 advantage by the midway mark of the second quarter.
By halftime, the Raiders had made only 8-of-28 shots and trailed 32-18.
"[Warren Harding] didn't shoot particularly well but I tribute a lot of that to our defense," Brush coach Jed Dunn said. "These kids can play when they really put their minds to it."
Next: Brush will play Shaker Heights Saturday at 1:30 p.m. for the district championship.
Warren Harding tried to make a run in the third quarter. Junior forward Prescott Burgess scored eight of his team-high 20 points as the Raiders had mixed success. Burgess also pulled down 15 rebounds.
Warren Harding got to within 11 points early in the period but then fell behind by as many as 21 points with 2:49 remaining in the quarter.
"I don't want to take anything away from Brush," Rowland said. "People don't realize since Jan. 24 [coach Frank Bubba's death] 4 1/2 weeks ago what these kids and this coaching staff have been through.
"Trying to keep things going and getting back to normal. Things are never back to normal. The kids have done a good job," Rowland said. "I'm not going to dwell on negatives, not after what these kids have been through this year.
"We didn't lose for lack of effort."
Danny Stella was the only other Raider in double figures with 10 points.
Brush was led by 6-5, 240 pound junior Marcel Frost who scored 24 points and grabbed ten rebounds. Ray Mosby added 11 points and Ohio State football recruit Roy Hall added 10 points.