43
Shooting woes doom Harding’s district dream
By Curtis Pulliam
Solon
Playing catch up in basketball is never a good idea, even if you are as talented as the Warren Harding boys team.
Warren Harding struggled in the first quarter and Shaker Heights used a 15-0 run to ignite a 49-38 victory in Saturday’s Division I district final at Solon High School.
“I thought we got off to a very chaotic start,” Warren Harding head coach Andy Vlajkovich said. “The pace we played with offensively in the second half was the pace I was hoping we would start the game with.”
Instead, Warren Harding struggled from the field and the free throw line in the first.
“We panicked in the opening frame,” Vlajkovich said. “But we were still hanging around.”
As a team, Warren Harding had one field goal and five missed free throws.
Shaker Heights took advantage and led 12-5 after one.
Esa Ahmed, a West Virginia recruit had nine points in the quarter.
He finished with a game-high 23 and Kaleb Roy added 11 for Shaker Heights.
“I told him I’m not ready for him to go to Huggins,” Shaker Heights head coach Danny Young. “We have five more games left, I’m not giving you up.”
The Raiders started fast in the second going on 9-4 sparked by sophomore Derek Culver’s six points.
Seeing the lead dwindle to 18-16, Shaker Heights scored 15 consecutive points, 10 to end the second and five to start the third including a dunk by Ahemd.
After the huge run, Warren Harding cut the lead to eight to end the third but that was the closest Warren Harding got.
A big factor was that Warren Harding shot 9-22 from the free throw line.
“The free throw line really hurt us,” Vlajkovich said. “We just felt like we couldn’t get into a rhythm all night.”
That was in part because of themselves but also the defense played on Culver.
“He was really aggressive with Potter and I was very surprised by that,” Young said. “But Potter didn’t get into him. So we talked about getting into him and now go after him.”
He was held to just 10 points but did have 15 rebounds.
“He’s a special talent,” said Young of Culver. “I wish he was in red and white.”
Shakem Johnson had 11 points to lead Warren Harding. Senior Shondell Jackson had seven and Jarelle Johnson added five.
“I gave it my all,” Jarelle Johnson. “I didn’t leave nothing on the court.”
Vlajkovich was pleased what the seniors did for the program.
“I’m really proud of those guys not just as players but as people and kids,” Vlajkovich said. “But I talked to some of the underclassmen and said these tears of sorrow will be tears of joy in 365 days.
“We return some core guys but I don’t want it to be lost on how much this program values its seniors.”
In the third quarter, the athleticism of both teams stood out.
Ahmed had another dunk and Gabe Simpson found Shakem Johnson twice for ally-oop slams for the Raiders.
Shaker Heights has won four consecutive district titles.
Warren Harding is losing two starters to graduation.
“Yes, absolutely,” said Vlajkovich when asked if experienced mattered. “They have been here four times and we’ve been here once. The good news is we have that experience now.”