Harding earns share of SVC

Mario Manningham paced the Raiders with 18 points.
By JAMIE TRINA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Friday's contest between the Warren Harding and Ursuline boys basketball teams began as a battle, and ended in a war.
Both teams bruised and battered one another until the bitter end in Ursuline's 60-50 defeat.
Harding clinched a share of the Steel Valley Conference title.
"We just didn't make the big plays down the stretch, and they did," Ursuline coach Keith Gunther said. "We can't take anything away from Harding. They're a really good team."
Junior Mario Manningham paced the Raiders with 18 points, 10 of which came way of the foul line.
Harding jumped out to a 9-2 lead, but Ursuline was able to claw their way back with a 7-2 run.
"Early in the game we were getting good shots. I thought our kids came out a little uncomfortable," Gunther said.
Ursuline's run continued into the start of the second quarter. After outscoring Harding 7-3, the Fighting Irish were able to tie the game at 16.
Raiders led at halftime
Harding quickly jumped back into the driver's seat. A 13-7 run in the remaining four minutes of the half allowed the Raiders to take a 29-23 lead.
Ursuline shut the Raiders down to eight points in the third quarter.
"We stepped it up big," Gunther said. "We went to man-to-man and played extremely well on defense. I can't fault them for the efforts."
But the Raiders played well in the fourth quarter and their lead didn't fall below five.
Braxton leads Irish
On a night that spotlighted the seniors, Branndon Braxton took a step onto center stage. The Oklahoma football recruit was Ursuline's leading scorer with 12 points. The big man even found a stroke from beyond the perimeter.
""I don't think I played my best game tonight, but I thought everyone played well," Braxton said. "We play a tough schedule, but we just need to get over the hump. We came close to winning, but we broke down. We don't play under pressure well."