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Harding dominates Fitch
By MIKE McLAIN
AUSTINTOWN
No one can say that Fitch Falcons basketball coach Brian Beany isn’t a realist.
Beany looked at the players warming up before the start of the Fitch-Warren G. Harding Raiders game Tuesday and knew the odds were stacked overwhelmingly against the Falcons, and to the surprise of none in attendance the Raiders easily took care of business, 100-58, in an All-American Conference Red Tier game.
Beany is also an optimistic, which is why he could look at a 42-point loss and see the good in it.
“When it’s all said and done, sometimes you look across and say the other team is better,” Beany said. “That’s just a fact. But I’m proud of our guys because we continually play hard. We didn’t quit.”
The Falcons (0-5 and 0-3 in the tier) have no experience back from the 17-win team of last season. There’s also a noticeable lack of height. Even when 6-10 senior Derek Culver is off the floor for the Raiders, the Falcons looked small.
Fitch’s only hope was for Harding to have an off night shooting from the outside because there was little the Falcons could do to stop the Raiders’ inside game and play in transition. Harding failed to accommodate, lighting it up from the outside by making 10 3-point shots.
Factor in 20 points on the inside by Culver, a West Virginia recruit, and the Raiders were never in trouble after scoring 16 of the first 17 points.
“Against a team like that, there’s no margin for error,” Beany said. “You can’t have empty possessions, and when they’re shooting the ball that well from 3s … okay, with the inside game and their ability to attack the hoop, it’s big-time trouble.”
The Falcons regrouped after the poor start to keep the score from getting out of hand. In fact, after trailing 29-7 following the opening quarter, Fitch had a 21-20 scoring advantage in the second quarter.
“I’ll take my guys to battle every day of the week because they play hard,” Beany said. “Sometimes it’s not about the scoreboard. It’s about the other things besides the scoreboard.”
The Raiders, considered one of the elite Division I teams in northeastern Ohio, are showing signs of growth after an unexpected slow start. Harding coach Andy Vlajkovich played his entire bench, receiving point production from 10 players. Andrew Zeigler, a transfer from North Carolina, had a complete game with 13 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals. Lynn Bowden contributed 18 points. Tiryn Frank and Mike Hughes both added 11 points.
“I’m happy because we came out with great energy and great unselfishness,” Vlajkovich said. “We still don’t have great discipline, yet. We still have times of sloppy, poor fundamental play and defensive lapses, but the chemistry and the energy were there, and that’s the first step to becoming a good team.”
Dylan Beany led the Falcons in scoring with 19 points, including 9 of 10 at the line.
Culver, who scored 12 points in the first half, added eight more in the third quarter. He rested most of the fourth quarter as Vlajkovch began substituting heavily.
Harding had a 30-point third quarter to take a 79-46 lead.
“They are getting better, but playing teams like Warren with all inexperienced guys, there are going to be some growing pains,” Brian Beany said.