Harding falters against Ignatius

By John Bassetti

bassetti@vindy.com

SOLON

Warren Harding coach Steve Arnold is not one to dwell on the “what-ifs” of life.

But, what if his Raiders (18-5) wouldn’t have lost two starters in the past month? And what if Harding would have had another day or even six hours’ rest before its Div. I district championship game against St. Ignatius?

“I thought Ignatius played a great game, no doubt about it,” Arnold said after Saturday afternoon’s 79-66 defeat to St. Ignatius (19-4).

“I though we played a step slow. I think [that game] Thursday took a lot out of us,” he said of a double-OT win over Garfield Heights.

“Balls that we would normally get to we didn’t get. We’d normally make those baskets we tried, but we didn’t finish. I just thought we played a little tired.”

Tre Brown and Kennis White had 25 points apiece for Harding, which, instead of enjoying selection Sunday, is bemoaning sayonara Saturday.

Give a little sympathy for the Raiders, who, after expending themselves Thursday night, were back for more Saturday afternoon.

One of Ignatius’ losses was at Harding was in January by a 66-34 margin.

Coach Sean O’Toole said his approach didn’t change.

“We used the same full-court pressure and tried to get inside,” he said. “In the last game, they jumped on us quick and never looked back. It went from 8-2 to 17-4 to 12-14.

“But we’ve gotten better since then, too, and we’re a little more selective with our shots. We shoot a high percentage and score all we can.”

On Saturday, Harding’s greatest lead, 12-7, after J.D. Parker’s basket at 3:25 of the first quarter. The Wildcats took the lead for good, 14-12, with 2:17 remaining in the first period.

Shawn Miller and Rich Austin had 20 points apiece for Ignatius, while Tyler Hammond added 18 points and Tom Parker 12.

The balance was fitting after a team Mass earlier Saturday.

“Be who you are,” O’Toole said of the homily. “It’s a very unselfish group and everyone knows his role: the shooters, the penetrators, the defenders and who we’re going to throw to in the post. We’re a good team when everyone plays his role.”

Two Wildcats also had double-figure rebounding: Miller and Austin. The 6-8 Miller also had four blocked shots in the first half.

Offensively, Ignatius succeeded in getting behind Harding’s defense in the first half.

“The best way to attack a zone is from behind and, obviously,” O’Toole said, “because they play out front they’re so long — that’s where they take off and get [transition] opportunities down the floor. We were able to get behind and attack them. We’ve had success with that all year.”

Harding was unable to take advantage of Oneal Brown who had more fouls (3) than points (0).

Arnold said that Ignatius made adjustments to Harding’s half court trap defense, so “that’s why, after the first half, we got out of it.”

In the second half, the Raiders used man-to-man defense.

“They [Ignatius] did a good job,”Arnold said, “but, again, I think we played tired. We were just a step behind.”

Obvious signs of fatigue, Arnold said, included instances when a player would be within point-blank range of the basket, yet miss or not cover on defense.”

Asked about Oneal Brown and his foul trouble, O’Toole said: “The team that stays out of foul trouble and the team that stays healthy and is going to win. Obviously, they weren’t healthy, and, obviously, Oneal [Brown] being in foul trouble hurt.”

Recalling the 66-34 loss, O’Toole said: “They definitely were the better team that night. Everything they shot went and we just weren’t able to get the buckets we needed. Now, there’s no secret that they were missing Angel [Gonzalez, ACL injury] and Fred [Williams, dismissal].

“That’s a lot of weapons, so they should be very proud because those kids battled through this tournament with all the adversity. That’s a great team without those two guys.”

Asked what he thought of his Raiders, Arnold said: It was a great season, especially with all the adversity we endured. You had two kids who went to the state final four last year who aren’t part of our tournament lineup. To get the district championship game and come up a little bit short. [Without those players] You take away 30 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists out of you lineup. But we were able to get here with the guys we had. We just didn’t have it today.”