Howland hands Campbell first defeat of season

Ursuline rolled past host Girard 87-53 in the other game.
By DOUG CHAPIN
Vindicator Correspondent
GIRARD -- Howland handed Campbell its first loss of the season and Ursuline ran away from host Girard Tuesday evening in the first round of the Girard Holiday Boys Basketball Tournament.
The Tigers (3-3) and Irish (5-2) will square off Thursday in the championship game at 7:30 p.m. Campbell (7-1) will look to bounce back in the consolation game against Girard (0-4) at 6 p.m.
Howland rode a second-quarter hot streak by senior guard Jared Bartholomew on the way to a 50-44 triumph over Campbell, while Ursuline scored the first 10 points of the game and routed Girard 87-53.
Second meeting
Campbell defeated Howland 63-53 on Dec. 16 but the Tigers made some defensive adjustments and got more balanced scoring this time around.
"We switched defenses and that seemed to keep them off-balance," Howland coach Don Andres said. "We had more balance on offense. [Dario] Hadzovic scored 38 points the last time we played."
Hadzovic, a 6-foot-7 senior, scored 17 points this time to go with nine rebounds. Bartholomew added 15 points.
Bartholomew scored 10 consecutive points over a two-minute stretch in the second quarter to increase a 17-16 Howland lead to 27-16. Included were two 3-point shots and a bucket off a steal. A good feed by Zack Byler to 6-foot-8 senior Greg Hawes for a dunk in the final seconds gave the Tigers a 29-16 lead and all the momentum heading into halftime.
Paces Red Devils
Campbell, which was led by Terrence Philips with 20 points and Tommy Hall with nine, got to within nine early in the third quarter, but then fell behind by as many as 18 points, 46-28, with six minutes left in the game.
The Devils still trailed by 16 with two minutes to play before making it close down the stretch.
Howland shot 20-of-34 (59 percent) from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range. The Tigers were 7-of-10 at the line.
"We are coming along, we're getting better and better every game," Andres said.
His Tigers will face a stiff test on Thursday in Ursuline which also is getting better, especially offensively, according to coach Keith Gunther.
"Offense had been one of our biggest problems early in the season, only Jerome [Jones] and D'Aundrey [Brown] were scoring for us," Gunther said. "Lately, though, Jason White and Billy Jones and some of the others have contributed on offense.
Irish playing better
"Looking at the stat sheet tonight, we had 21 assists on 35 baskets. The kids are playing unselfish basketball and I think we are starting to gel as a team."
Brown scored 20 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists.
Jerome Jones had 17 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. White added nine points and four assists and Billy Jones came off the bench with 12 points and five rebounds.
Gunther's focus, though, is on the defense most of the time.
"Overall, I'd say our defense was good tonight, but not to the standards of our previous game when we held Rayen to 31 points," he said. "Girard has several guys who can stand way behind the arc and score, so we had to adjust to that."
Stevens leads Girard
Girard was led by Eric Stevens with 17 points, including three 3-pointers, and Sean Mostov with 15 points (two 3-pointers). Scott Barton added nine points.
Both teams took the same amount of shots, 63, but the Irish made 35 (56 percent) and the Indians made 20 (32 percent).
Girard was forced to bomb away from the outside, making 8 of 28 (29 percent) from behind the 3-point arc. Ursuline scored often in the paint off its fast break and on at least a half-dozen putbacks and tap-ins as the Irish pounded the offensive boards.
After jumping to its 10-0 start, the Irish held quarter leads of 26-11, 47-26 and 65-34.