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Girard recovers from tough loss
Photo
Girard’s Jim Standohar (2) goes to the basket as Pymatuning Valley’s Aaron Cross, right, defends Tuesday night. The Indians, of the All-American Conference, beat the Lakers, of the Northeastern Athletic Conference, 68-55.
GIRARD
Although Girard High basketball’s unofficial motto is “Get to the net” it wasn’t surpassed by the team’s urgency to get to the food line for a Senior Night post-game meal in the cafeteria following the Indians’ 68-55 non-conference win over Pymatuning Valley on Tuesday night.
It followed touching moments for cousins Jim and Evan Standohar and Vince Maderitz, all of whom received applause when they walked off the court after being replaced late in the fourth quarter.
Another receiving the same-type ovation was Dylan O’Hara, a junior, but a big contributor in helping Girard (14-3) resume what the Indians hope will be another long winning streak into the not-too-far-off post season. O’Hara had 21 points, four rebounds and four of his team’s 16 steals.
After having a 12-game winning streak snapped by LaBrae last Friday, 49-47, the Indians did some soul searching.
“Coming in after losing to LaBrae like we did took a lot out of us,” said senior Evan Standohar, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds and positioned himself strategically when on offense.
“I told the guys that it was on me because I had a little off-night, but we’ve regrouped all year, so we could do it again. We were going to show everybody what Girard basketball is about because we put it on the map the last two years,” said the player whose subtle tenacity takes its toll on opponents.
“I’d go to war for this team any day,” said Evan. “These guys play their butts off and I’m thankful to be a part of Girard basketball. I feel like we’re on a roll right now, so we’ve got to keep playing hard.”
He recalled thinking about Senior Night when he was a freshman.
“I still remember my freshman year when I thought that this day would never come,” Evan said. “You only get one of these, so it’s special. I like being out there with my cousin — it’s a great memory to have.”
Teamwork was a key component, helping the Indians to a 23-point third quarter that put distance between the home team from the All-American Conference and the visitors from the Northeastern Athletic Conference.
Jim Standohar, who had 15 points, echoed the rough loss to LaBrae.
“Coach was saying all week that we can’t dwell on it; you’ve got to keep moving forward. We’ve just got to worry about the games ahead of us. We didn’t come out that hot tonight, but we overcame some things and just got it done as a team.”
Jim Standohar, Girard basketball’s dynamo and intercessor in transforming defense into offense, said that the last four years were fun.
“It’s been great playing these last four years,” he said. “What me and my teammates did to put Girard basketball on the map and gain us respect means a lot. I wish I had more games after this season.”
Girard coach Craig Hannon said that the Indians needed to play better early, but didn’t.
“Py Valley took it to us, most of the game,” Hannon said. “I told my guys [after the game] that we’ve got to get over that because we’ve got a long way to go — that we’ve got to get better. Tonight, I’m not sure that we did that. But this is a good group of kids, so they’ll figure it out. We’ve got to get over it. It happened, but we’ll move on.”
O’Hara also said that last Friday’s game deflated Girard.
“We were rolling along with 12 in a row and feeling pretty strong, so it hurt. Tonight, we were going to come out and play strong, but we struggled the first half. We got it back in the second half and were able to get the win.”
The 6-2 O’Hara said that the Indians had something to prove the second half.
“Coach said that we weren’t the team he’d seen through 16 games. We were lazy on defense and letting people blow by us and not moving our feet, so we picked it up in the second half.”
Quintin Ratliff’s 17 points paced PV (10-8).