Harding heats up vs. Niles to halt two-game slide

January 19, 2014 at 12:07a.m.

NILES

A mid-December snowstorm forced the cancellation of the Hope Classic High School Basketball Showcase nightcap, which was to have been game between Warren Harding and Niles.

On Saturday, the Raiders and Red Dragons found themselves hoping to get back on track when the two teams met in the rescheduled game at Niles’ Veterans Gymnasium.

Harding entered the night having lost two straight, while Niles had dropped three consecutive games.

It was Harding which found its shooting groove, and the result was a74-47 win for the Raiders (7-5).

Niles, which has lost games to Canfield, LaBrae, Poland and Harding in a nine-day span, falls to 5-7.

One night after converting just 10 field goals in a 40-36 loss to Maple Heights, the Harding offense had little trouble scoring from all areas of the court against the Red Dragons. Junior Shondell Jackson led all scorers with 22 points, and was one of four Harding players to reach double digits.

Jarelle Johnson scored 13 for the Raiders, while Gabe Simpson and Shakem Johnson chipped in with 12 and 10, respectively.

Jackson also had nine rebounds, dished out six assists and had four steals. He had three of the Raiders’ 10 three-pointers on the night.

James Tate led Niles in points (10) and rebounds (seven), but for the Red Dragons, there was little offensive production beyond that.

Off the strength of a 13-point period by Jackson, Harding led 17-10 after one period of play, then took a 31-27 advantage into intermission. However, the Raiders outscored the Dragons 20-6 in the third period to pull away.

Raiders coach Andy Vlajkovich said that “team chemistry and a good offensive flow” led to a 46-point second half for his team.

“I’m looking at the scorebook, and I am counting 16 assists,” Vlajkovich said. “[Friday night] we had five. We moved the ball really good on offense, and we were getting the ball to guys who had open looks. We did a real nice job of setting up our offense tonight.

“[Friday] we were really grinding things out. It was painful to watch. Tonight we made some adjustments and we really picked up our intensity.”

Vlajkovich was not surprised by the solid all-around game turned in by Jackson.

“Shondell is a really talented kid,” Vlajkovich said. “He needs to be consistent. When he is, he can be a force.”

For Niles coach Ron Price, the third-quarter struggles were reminiscent of other recent games in which the Red Dragons seem to lose their shooting touch.

“We hung tough for one half, but then we hit a drought in the third quarter, and you can’t do that against good teams,” Price said. “It’s been awhile since we have been able to put together a full four quarters.

“Our margin for error is slim. We just have to keep at it and put together a solid game from start to finish.”

Harding returns to action Tuesday when it visits East. Niles will look to rebound Tuesday when it hosts Twinsburg.