Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Angel Gonzalez scored key points in the second-half comeback.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BOARDMAN — Playing listless basketball in the first half, the state’s second-ranked boys basketball team in Division I had to rally Tuesday.
Behind some big shots by Angel Gonzalez in the fourth quarter, the Warren Harding High team held off Boardman, 57-50.
Gonzalez hit two big 3-point baskets and scored 12 of his game-high 23 points in the final period to help the Raiders (10-1) hold off the upset-minded Spartans.
Boardman (5-7) held Harding to nearly 20 points under its season scoring average but missed several scoring opportunities themselves after getting as close 51-47 with 1:21 left in the game.
The Raiders knocked down four free throws and got a layup by Gonzalez in the final minute to hold on to victory.
“It was a workman-like effort by us on the road,” Warren coach Steve Arnold said. “You take a win when you can get it especially when you go up against the opposition’s best effort.
“We came out a little lethargic in the first couple of minutes and we were real passive offensively,” Arnold said.
The Spartans came out determined to set the tempo and maybe steal a win against the highly-ranked Raiders who were playing their second game in a row without senior Fred Williams, who is sitting for disciplinary reasons.
Arnold said that Williams could return later in the season but didn’t want to talk about the reasons for the suspension or when Williams would return.
Boardman was playing without one of its top players, Chase Hammond, who violated a team rule and was suspended for the contest.
The Spartans however, came out and made six of their first 10 shots and jumped on the Raiders 14-11 after one quarter.
“I was proud of our kids and proud of the effort they put forth tonight,” Boardman coach Jim Goske said. “I asked them to believe they could compete and there is no doubt they believed because they came out with some fire in their eyes.
“Our kids came out and played very hard against a very good basketball team.”
Boardman continued to play with the Raiders into the second half behind strong efforts from senior J.T. Moore and sophomore Dayne Hammond.
The duo battled Harding’s big men for baskets and rebounds and kept the Raiders frustrated for most of the first half.
Hammond scored 14 points and had 10 rebounds while Moore added nine points and 11 rebounds.
Gonzalez said that the Raiders got a tongue-lashing from Arnold at halftime and that seemed to wake up the Harding offense.
“Coach said we had to pick it up at halftime,” Gonzalez said. “He said we had to attack more with the ball and get more offensive rebounds.”
Harding played better in the third quarter and slowly began to perform like they have all season.
The Raiders went ahead by six points, 37-31, on a basket by Gonzalez before Boardman made a little run late to close the gap to three points, 40-37 at the end of the period.
Gonzalez heated up in the fourth quarter by hitting his first two 3-point attempts and that pushed Harding’s lead out to 46-41.
“Those kind of shots are what you expect from a senior,” said Arnold of Gonzalez’s fourth-quarter scoring spree. “For a kid that’s played a lot of basketball, you expect him to come out and settle some other guys and make some key shots when you need them.”
Kennis White scored 12 points for the Raiders while Tre Brown added nine.
Dave DiBernardi scored 13 points for Boardman.