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Despite fire alarm delay, Girard stays cool
By Steve ruman
NILES
Burnt popcorn at the concession stand ignited a fire alarm and forced the evacuation of Veterans Memorial Gymnasium, creating a delay in Friday’s 51-48 victory by Girard over Niles.
The stoppage of play occurred at the 5:21 mark of the third period, just as Girard had run off seven consecutive points to build a 35-28 lead over the Red Dragons.
When play resumed, the popcorn wasn’t the only thing that cooled down. Both the Indians and the Red Dragons struggled to find the hoop. The two teams combined to convert just seven field goals following the delay, but Girard managed to hang on for the road win.
The Indians (2-5) were aided by the hot hand of Austin Clausell. The sophomore scored a game-high 21 points and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Clausell scored four of Girard’s eight fourth-quarter points from the charity stripe.
Anthony Graziano chipped in with 16 points, while Austin O’Hara and Mark Waid rounded out the scoring with seven apiece.
Niles (2-4) was led by Cyler Kane-Johnon (14 points) and Da’Jon Motley (12 points).
“This was a big win for us, we’re a very young team and we’re trying to build on each game, so to get a road win against a good Niles team is big,” Girard coach Craig Hannon said. “Our schedule has been difficult.
“We did ourselves no favor with our early schedule, but we’ve been right there. We’ve been close in almost all our games, and we’re learning how to win.”
Against the Red Dragons, Girard never trailed. The Indians scored the first points of the game on a Clausell three-pointer, and led 15-11 at the end of the first quarter. Graziano scored 10 points in the frame.
Girard extended its lead to 31-25 at the break, and built a seven-point advantage before play was halted for approximately 20 minutes.
“There was a concern as far as losing our momentum, especially coming out from halftime, playing a short time, then having the game stopped again,” Hannon said. “You get into a rhythm, and you want to maintain that flow.
“The people of Niles did a good job of getting things back in order quickly, and really there was no advantage or disadvantage for either team,” Hannon said, “We both faced the same situation.
“As a coach, you hate to see something like that happen, but it was handled really well by Niles.”
Girard eventually built a 48-38 advantage midway through the fourth period; however, Niles went on a 10-3 run to close the game. Kane-Johnson had an opportunity to tie the game at the buzzer, but a long three-point attempt missed the mark.
The Indians scored just one field goal in the final period, but were 6-of-8 from the free throw line to seal the win.
“This one feels good, because we faced some adversity and we hung tough,” Clausell said. “We’re very young, we’re still gelling as a group, but I think we’re coming along nicely.
“Scoring 21 is nice, but it’s especially great to have a perfect night at the stripe,” Clausell said. “