Saturday, January 16, 2016
By STEVE WILAJ
BOARDMAN
On the scoreboard, it appeared Warren Harding executed its game plan soundly in a 76-48 win at Boardman on Friday. But Raiders sixth man Lynn Bowden, who saw Harding’s slow start from the bench, knows the fact of the matter.
“We could have did better, but that’s room for practicing,” said Bowden, who scored 10 points. “So it was kind of a good thing we didn’t do as well as we should have tonight, so we can just get back at it tomorrow and work harder.”
Gabe Simpson notched 16 points, six assists and five rebounds to pace the Raiders (10-1, 8-0 AAC Gold tier), who were stagnant for most of the first quarter before ending strong for a 19-12 advantage. It was smooth sailing from there on out for Harding — which also received 13 points and nine rebounds from Derek Culver — as it took a 17-point halftime lead and never looked back.
“[Boardman] plays as hard and as competitive as any team in our league,” Raiders coach Andy Vlajkovich said. “[Spartans coach Pat Birch] has his kids ready to play all the time.
“We knew that coming in and actually prepared for some junk defenses and combination defenses that we thought they might do. They did a good job taking away our inside game. ...Luckily we made nine 3’s tonight, which always makes up for it.”
Indeed, Harding went 9 of 20 from beyond the arc with Simpson and Mark Herron each making three.
Boardman (5-6, 2-5) caught some bad luck in the first quarter when its top scorer Gannon Murray (16 points per game) went down with an ankle injury after making a layup. He exited the contest immediately and never returned.
“It seemed like a sprain, but that’s just going by how he said it’s feeling,” Birch said. “You hope it’s not anything serious. He does a lot for us offensively that would be hard to replace.”
With Murray out, the Spartans were led by Holden Lipke’s 11 points and John Ryan’s eight as they were forced to switch from their original game plan.
“We were really gonna try to get Culver in a lot of high ball-screens [against Murray] and make him guard space,” Birch said. “That play he got hurt on was exactly what we did. But then he goes out and we went to Plan B. We still had some opportunities and had great looks. If they go in, it’s a different feel to the game.”
Boardman finished just 16 of 44 from the field, including 6 of 17 from 3-point range.
The Spartans forced six Harding turnovers in the first quarter, but the Raiders received a boost when Bowden entered the contest. The junior finished a perfect 4 of 4 from the field.
“I just came in and contributed — passed the ball around got everybody going,” Bowden said. “I’m like a motivator. I try to be an energizer and that’s what I did.”
Added Vlajkovich: “He’s accepted that role. He’s our energy guy off the bench and he’s unselfish, but he can score too. He kind of fits right in with what we’re doing.”
Bowden also exited with an ankle injury late in the third quarter when he went up for a rebound and “came down a little awkward.” However, he said it felt fine after the game.
The Raiders outscored Boardman — which committed 17 turnovers — 23-14 in the third quarter.
“Their zone is formidable because you put [Shakem] Johnson up top, Culver in the middle and the wings are long and athletic,” Birch said. “All of a sudden there’s black jerseys everywhere.”