Harding too strong for Irish

Damian Eargle had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Raiders in the victory.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Warren Harding High boys basketball coach Steve Arnold has learned to accept that his team is going to have at least one bad stretch per game.
"I might as well know it's coming," Arnold said. "Every game, we hit a two-three-four minute stretch where the shots won't fall."
Tuesday was no different. After jumping out to a 23-6 lead over the first 12 minutes against Ursuline, the Raiders went cold, turning the ball over seven times and missing two shots as the Irish cut the deficit to six, 23-17, at halftime.
But after three months of preaching defense, Arnold's team has started to listen.
The Raiders held the Irish to 2 of 11 shooting in the third period and led by as many as 16 in the second half en route to a 53-43 victory in a Steel Valley Conference game at Ursuline High School.
"At practice, all he talks about is defense, defense, defense," said Harding guard Bryan Wright, who finished with 10 points. "If we play defense like we can, we've got a pretty good chance of winning."
There's two big reasons for that: Harding is tall and athletic. The Raiders are particularly tough inside, where sophomore Damian Eargle (6-foot-8) and his older brother, senior Damian Eargle (6-7), wreak havoc.
"What killed us is they are flat-out long and tall," Ursuline coach Keith Gunther said. "And when Bryan [Wright] is in the game, they just don't turn the ball over."
Strong play
Damian Eargle finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Raiders (11-6), who outrebounded the Irish 39-28. O'dell Eargle added eight points and nine rebounds off the bench.
"Damian just has those long arms and one of his strengths is that he has a knack for finding the ball," Arnold said. "We're long and athletic and we've learned to use that."
The Irish (11-6) did a good job with their trapping defense, forcing 23 turnovers -- guard Nick McCartney played especially well in that area with five steals -- but Ursuline's lack of depth and height was too much.
The Irish shot 15 of 48 from the floor (31 percent) and had 19 turnovers. Senior center Jerome Jones (6-7) played almost the entire game, but was visibly hobbled after injuring his ankle in last Friday's win over Warren JFK.
"He's about 70 percent," Gunther said of Jones, who finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. "We're going to sit him this Friday [against Beaver Local] and get him rested up for the tournament.
"He gave us a heck of an effort even though he's a little gimpy."
McCartney scored 14 points to lead the Irish, while D'Aundray Brown had 11 points and seven rebounds.
Tournament tune-up
"It's a great warm-up for the tournament because we're not going to see that kind of talent in our [Division III] district," Gunther said. "We may see it at the regional if we get there, but I don't even think we'd see it there."
Harding, however, will see a team even more talented in its district in Canton McKinley, the defending Div. I state champs.
"McKinley was here tonight scouting us and I'm quite sure they saw some things they felt they could take advantage of," Arnold said.
But that's still a ways away. For now, the Raiders are focusing on crosstown rival Warren JFK, which they play on Friday.
"All I'll say is we're looking forward to it," Arnold said. "Not only me, but the students at Warren Harding and the players."
scalzo@vindy.com