43
Girard shows heart in win over JFK
YOUNGSTOWN
After watching his team give up a seven-point halftime lead, claw its way back to force overtime, only to allow Girard to score 13 points in the extra frame and win 62-59, Warren JFK coach Shawn Pompelia did something he said he’s never done in all his years of coaching.
“I walked in [Girard’s] locker room and told those guys that their season’s going along very well, they’ve got a lot to be proud of and they have to believe that they can win that district,” Pompelia said. “They may lack some height, but they don’t lack heart and that’s something you can’t teach.”
Girard’s heart, along with 19 points on five 3-pointers from Dylan O’Hara, willed the Indians to victory Saturday night at the Covelli Centre in the third annual Lariccia’s “See Them Rise” High School Basketball Showcase.
“Our kids have a lot of heart, they give a lot of effort and it’s really easy to coach kids like that,” Girard coach Craig Hannon said. “What I’m most proud of is no matter who we play, where we play, we never give up, we battle, we just keep fighting and it was the same thing tonight.”
The Indians had no answer early in the game for JFK big man Zachary Usher, who’s a native of Belize. The 6-foot-7 forward scored six points and had three blocked shots in the first quarter, forcing Girard to switch to a zone defense just a couple of possessions into the game.
“We don’t have a great matchup for bigs; he’s a big boy and did a lot of good things, and we just don’t have an answer for that size,” Hannon said. “Our kids got smarter about attacking him later on, too.”
JFK’s answer to the zone was the outside shot, which they made seven of throughout the rest of the game. However early in the second half, Usher had to head to the bench after picking up his third foul.
In the third quarter, with nobody guarding the rim anymore, the Indians outscored the Eagles 21-9, including eight points from O’Hara.
“Coach told me just to keep shooting even though the shots weren’t falling in the first half,” O’Hara said. “Our team just kept fighting.”
JFK pulled back to within a possession late in the fourth quarter and tied the game on an easy basket underneath by Usher with 43 seconds left. On Girard’s next possession, O’Hara forced up a contested layup over Usher that didn’t fall, giving the Eagles the final shot.
Pompelia drew up play out of a timeout with 14.2 seconds left and his point guard, Preston Caparanis got a good look from 3, but it rimmed out.
“It’s a game of inches and one more inch to the right or left and he might bury that shot,” Hannon said. “Rolled off the right way for us and here we are.”
In the overtime session, Girard point guard Jimmy Standohar took control, scoring four points and feeding a wide open O’Hara in the corner for his fifth and final 3-pointer of the night. The Indians went six of eight from the foul line to ice the game and earn the win.
“That’s what a senior point guard does,” Hannon said. “It’s a good advantage to have a point guard not only as good as Jimmy, but a senior leader as well.”
JFK’s Isaac Carrino matched O’Hara’s 19 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter and overtime, but for Pompelia and the Eagles it was an all too familiar story.
“I mean we’re close guys, we’re close,” said Pompelia, “but we’ve got to find some Ws.”