Culver, Harding hold on to outlast Canfield

January 24, 2015 at 12:09a.m.

Canfield

At 6-foot-9. Warren Harding post man Derek Culver pretty much hovers over opponents.

Culver’s game-high 27 points and 13 rebounds helped the Raiders to a 74-68 victory over Canfield in All-American Conference, Red Tier action Friday night.

The win earned the Raiders a season sweep of their divisional foe as they remained undefeated in seven road contests.

Harding (11-1, 8-0) built a 53-34 lead after three quarters of play, then watched as Canfield (10-5, 5-4) cut the lead to 67-61 with 1:37 remaining before holding on for a six-point victory.

That 34-point outburst by the Cardinals in the final quarter matched the offensive output of their three previous quarters combined.

“In the first half we came out with a lot of energy, but got lackadaisical in the second half and it hurt us. It seemed like when we slowed it down, they sped it up,” Culver said. “This was one of my better games this season; it was just one of those nights. The key to my success is my teammates as they are always looking for me inside and I then look to get them the ball when they’re open. This was a good learning experience for us.”

The Raiders scored the game’s first 10 points and behind Culver’s 10, opened a 20-10 lead after the first eight minutes.

Culver added eight more points in the second quarter, scoring 18 the Raiders’ first 30 points as they built a 34-17 halftime advantage.

They stretched their lead to 53-34 after three periods as Culver added six more points. Harding also got four each from Shakem Johnson and Jarelle Johnson as they outscored the Cardinals, 19-17, in the period.

That’s when Canfield began its comeback.

Seven points by Mike Yourstowsky and four more by Vince Leone keyed a 16-8 run by the Cardinals to start the final period, cutting the Raiders’ lead to 59-48.

Three more buckets by Yourstowsky sliced the Harding lead to 67-61 with 1:37 remaining as the Cardinals scored 25 of the first 39 points of the period.

“We completely stopped guarding in the fourth quarter. We played really hard the first two-and-a-half quarters but it was like a lightbulb went off in the final quarter,” said Harding head coach Andy Vlajkovich. “A 34-point quarter is unacceptable, but you have to give Canfield credit because they made some shots with a hand in their face.”

Back-to-back buckets by Culver and Shakem Johnson once again increased the Harding lead to 71-61 with 59 seconds remaining.

The Raiders have won five straight.

“The only thing that I told our players at halftime was that we’d have to play much better than we did in the first half. Sometimes a large deficit like that makes you work harder and that was the case for us tonight,” Cardinals coach Todd Muckleroy said.

Yourstowsky’s 26 points and Mason Mangapora’s 24 led the Cardinals.

Shondell Jackson (16 points), Jarelle Johnson (10) and Shakem Johnson (10) also scored in double figures for the Raiders.