43
Clutch throws rescue Harding
By Pete Mollica
WARREN
The Warren Harding boys basketball team used some clutch free throw shooting in the final seconds and walked away with their first victory of the season.
The Raiders (1-1) connected on three straight free throws in the final three seconds in Friday’s game to take a 69-65 victory over Shaker Heights.
Harding never trailed in the contest after the first two minutes and led by as many as 13 points in the third quarter.
But several key turnovers in the final quarter allowed the Red Raiders to get back into the contest before Harding turned them away from the foul line.
“The thing that I was most impressed with tonight was the way we responded after losing our season opener,” said Harding head coach Steve Arnold, who had never lost a season opener since he’s been head coach.
“Shaker Heights is a very good basketball team and we had them under control through three quarters, but then we made some costly turnovers in the final quarter and let them get back in the game,” Arnold said.
“Still I was pleased with the effort after our opening loss and we have a lot of kids who have to get use to playing varsity basketball,” Arnold said.
Speaking of the Lake Erie League, Arnold said, “This is a very tough league, it’s a basketball league and with teams like Mentor, Shaker, Cleveland Heights and Euclid, all who we have to play twice, it is going to be a battle every game.
“But I’m sure that by the time tournament time rolls around we will be well prepared,” Arnold said.
Harding was led by senior Tre’ Brown, who tossed in 20 points, including two 3-point goals, while junior Jesse Hardin added 16 points, with four 3-point goals.
The Raiders had trouble controlling junior guard Terry Rozier, who led all scorers with 28 points, while senior Otis Barrow added 23 and the pair combined for all six of the Red Raiders 3-point goals.
After falling behind 3-2 in the opening minutes the Raiders then went 13-2 run and pulled to a 15-5 lead and still led 20-9 with just more than a minute remaining in the quarter before the Red Raiders closed the gap to 20-13. Harding still led by nine 36-27 at halftime.
Shaker Heights cut the lead to seven points 41-34 early in the third quarter before Harding went on a 7-2 run to take its biggest lead 50-37 with 2:21 left in the quarter. The Raiders still led by 10 points 56-46 after three quarters.
The Raiders led by 12 points 64-52 with 2:10 remaining in the contest, but turnovers helped the Red Raiders run off nine straight points, five of them by Rozier.
A basket by Barrow with 15 seconds left pulled Shaker to within a point 66-65, but Harding then cashed in on free thows.
Hardin hit two free throws with 3.1 seconds left and Quentin Jackson iced the victory with another in the final second.