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Warren Harding knocks off top-seeded Akron Ellet
Bowden, Frank
power Raiders
By ERIC FORTUNE
ALLIANCE
Warren G. Harding’s small ball came up big in a Division I district semifinal.
Big enough, in fact, for the fourth-seeded Raiders to upset top-seeded Akron Ellet, 67-57.
Harding (18-7) was 13 of 20 from 3-point range and controlled the tempo throughout against the bigger, more physical Orangemen (18-6).
“I told someone the other that if we made nine, I thought we’d win the game,” Harding coach Andy Vlajkovich said. “Obviously, it was a contrast of styles. They’re big and physical and we’re skilled and can make shots. If we do, we’re dangerous.”
The reward is a district final berth Saturday against the winner of tonight’s semifinal between Boardman and Uniontown Lake.
“When you’re 13 of 20, you’re probably going to win a lot of games,” Vlajkovich said. “Our MO has really been focusing on making shots. One thing about them because they are unselfish, they get good ones. The floor is always spread because we don’t have a big.”
Lynn Bowden led the Raiders with 19 points, including 15 in the second half. Bowden scored six points down the stretch and made four of six foul shots to prevent an Ellet comeback.
Tiryn Frank started the barrage of 3s with four as he scored 13 of his 16 points in the first half.
Harding led 14-12 after one and 31-22 at the half.
The Raiders’ guards controlled the pace. Harding ran when it wanted to and went to a half-court game when necessary.
“I think those two guards of ours are so mature and are able to control pace and tempo,” Vlajkovich said. “It always felt like they were in control. We have guards that control pace and tempo, both fast and slow, because I felt we played fast at times and played slow at times. They deserve a lot of credit.”
Ellet had 6-foot-9 A.J. Gareri, who finished with 19 points for the Orangemen, but it never seemed like he was able to cause the problems that Ellet coach Mark Fisher thought he could.
“They had that help guy in there double-teaming A.J. before he even got the ball,” Fisher said. “We needed to move the ball better. We couldn’t even get into our offense. The first pass was the problem.”
The Raiders forced 18 turnovers as Fisher felt his team had weak passes in the first half. Harding took those deflected or stolen passes and consistently turned them into transition points.
The Raiders built a 14-point lead in the early stages of the third quarter and saw the Orangemen respond to get it as close as five at the 2:56 mark of the quarter.
But each time Ellet made a run, Harding responded time and time again with a big shot to regain the advantage.
Harding led 50-37 after three quarters. Ellet got within seven in the final quarter, but the Raiders made their shots when needed down the stretch.
“They were 13 of 20 with their 3s,” Fisher said. “That’s usually our strength. What is usually going for us was going for them. That was the difference in the game. We had four.”