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Harding zips past Canfield
WARREN
After the Warren Harding High School boys basketball team defeated Canfield 71-52, Raiders coach Andy Vlajkovich pointed out the efficient flow of the All-American Conference Red Tier contest that took just one hour and five minutes to complete.
“We had 10 turnovers, including five through the first three quarters, so, basically, yeah, it was fast,” Vlajkovich said of the neat and tidy nature of the victory that boosted Harding’s record to 13-1, 10-0.
Vlajkovich said that the win was due to the contribution of “a lot of guys,” but Derek Culver’s numbers of 17 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks, two steals and two assists anchored the AP state poll’s No. 9-ranked Division I team.
Yes, the 6-10 Culver had company, especially in the first half when Shakem Johnson scored eight of his 14 points and had two of his three dunks.
“That’s just how we play and that’s just what he can do,” Vlajkovich said of the 6-7 Johnson.
“Tonight it was a lot of guys, but Shakem had good energy, he was on the offensive glass and he had a monster kind of tip-in dunk. Shakem is just a by-product of him being talented and us being unselfish.”
The tip-in dunk followed Gabe Simpson’s miss of a baseline lay-up, sort of a putback with punch.
Johnson’s two-handed slam took place just 19 seconds into the third quarter to give the Raiders a 47-23 lead.
Canfield, which committed 20 turnovers on Tuesday, also lost to Harding on Dec. 11, 76-50. Coach Todd Muckleroy’s team knew that it had a serious challenge ahead at the Harding gym.
“They’re so athletic that you just hope your guys can pass the ball well and value every possession,” Muckleroy said. “You hope you could just come out in the second half and take small steps to try to get within some striking distance in the fourth quarter, but Harding wouldn’t allow us to do that. They just weren’t letting us run our stuff, plus, they shot the ball well [29 of 56] and did whatever they wanted, offensively. It’s a tough team to stop.”
Simpson and Marlin Richardson had 11 points apiece. Most of Simpson’s points came via lay-ups or similar shots near the basket.
Vlajkovich said that the 5-10 point guard’s approach wasn’t unusual.
“He always plays like that,” Vlajkovich said. “Gabe just takes what the defense gives him. He plays with good ‘feel’ and if you give him a ‘3’ he’ll take it and if he can get to the rim, he’s going to do that. But he’s multi-dimensional and that’s what makes him a good player.”
Julian Vitto had a team-high 17 points for Canfield (12-4, 6-3), while Mason Mangapora added 12. Sam DiGiacomo and Mangapora had six and five rebounds, respectively, of their team’s 18 total.