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Freshman Culver ignites Harding
By Steve Wilaj
YOUNGSTOWN
When Anthony Bell, the Warren Harding High basketball team’s top scorer, rolled his ankle early in the first quarter against Ursuline, the Raiders suddenly had to dig deep for some scoring.
With that search, Harding coach Andy Vlajkovich quickly found out his team was up for the task. Led by a balanced effort and a handful of underclassmen, the Raiders held on to defeat the Fighting Irish, 64-61, in the Ursuline gymnasium.
“You look at our scoring and it didn’t look like it has all year,” Vlajkovich said. “We had some guys pick it up for Anthony and we really had to rely on some of the young guys tonight.”
Six-foot-7 freshman Derek Culver led the Raiders, posting career-highs with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
He was helped by sophomore Shakem Johnson’s 10 points and seven rebounds. Bell and Jarelle Johnson added 10 points apiece. King Garner played a strong all-around game as well with nine points, four assists and four steals.
“I give credit to the young guys to go in there and step up,” Vlajkovich said. “But the most credit goes to King Garner. He hasn’t scored much all year, but to go in and step up tonight ... He’s been our rock all year.”
The Raiders (5-2) took a 42-37 lead into the fourth quarter, but saw it shrink to two points when Ursuline’s Greg Parella nailed a 3-pointer with 1:05 remaining.
A layup by David Collins with 28 seconds remaining then cut the deficit to 62-61.
However, two free throws by Johnson put Harding ahead, 64-61, with 18 seconds left .
At the buzzer, Ursuline’s Mark Hughes’ 3-point attempt missed off the left of the rim.
“We couldn’t get that key bucket or that key layup,” Irish coach Keith Gunther said. “I thought we played well and I thought we played hard, but Culver and Shakem kicked our behinds on the glass, especially Culver with his big body.”
It was the most minutes of the season for Culver, who Vlajkovich said is still learning on a day-to-day basis.
“I thought I played good and my teammates did a good job of getting me the ball,” Culver said. “And I was just trying to be the best defensive player I can for my team.
“But it was just a strong all-around effort as a collective group.”
Vlajkovich said he wasn’t sure what to expect from the 14-year old, but had to ride out Culver’s hot start.
“He’s just a baby and he’s gotten a ton better as the year’s gone on,” Vlajkovich said. “His work ethic has really improved and if you work hard, you’ll see success.”
The Irish (7-3) were led by Collins’ 16 points and Hughes’ 15 points. They were without second-leading scorer Desmond McElroy because of an off-court incident.
“I thought we battled really tough though,” Gunther said. “But Harding caused problems with their size, handled our pressure well towards the end and we missed a couple layups in some crucial moments that you can’t afford to miss.”