Harding stomps Solon, 70-50

Eargle scores 16 in sectional championship

By LOU CALI JR. Tribune Chronicle
WARRENSVILLE HEIGHTS — Ever been annoyed by a bumble bee that wouldn’t go away?

Move to the left, there it is. Move to the right, it follows you. Swat at it, it comes back at you twice as hard.

The best answer is to just run away as fast as you can.

The Warren G. Harding Raiders know the feeling. For three quarters Saturday night they tried everything to get rid of Solon, all to no avail. Finally, thanks to a 24-8 fourth quarter powered by defensive speed, Harding was able to get away from the Comets and win the Division I sectional title, 70-50.

‘‘I give those guys a lot of credit,’’ Harding coach Steve Arnold said. ‘‘They played extremely hard. I thought, down the stretch, talent prevailed.’’

The top-seeded Raiders (20-1) will play Bedford (16-6) in a district semifinal Thursday. Bedford beat Euclid, 68-65, in overtime in the other sectional final Saturday night.

Despite a spirited effort, Solon bowed out at 9-13.

‘‘We did a great job executing what we wanted to do for three quarters,’’ said Solon coach Sean Fisher after his run of three consecutive district titles ended. ‘‘Warren Harding is a great team. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see them win the state title.’’

Midway through the fourth quarter, whether Harding would make it out of sectionals was still in question. Collin Baldwin’s layup drew Solon within 54-49 with 3 minutes, 35 seconds remaining. But the spurt that Arnold had been waiting for all night came then.

Sheldon Brogdon’s 3-pointer began a 13-0 run which iced the game. Brogdon had seven points in the streak which ended with Desmar Jackson’s steal and two-handed dunk. Jackson had three of his game-high nine assists in that span.

‘‘In the third quarter we were up by nine and they called time,’’ Arnold said. ‘‘I thought we were going to put them away at that point in time but we didn’t. I just kept wondering, ‘Where’s our spurtability?’ ’’

Although Webster may have some issues with Arnold’s expression, the Raiders’ spurtability showed at game’s end. Solon, which had overcome every press and defensive strategy thrown at it, was finally unable to negate the Raiders’ superior quickness, particularly on defense.

‘‘In the fourth quarter their athleticism took over,’’ Fisher said. ‘‘They turned it up and I’m not sure how much we had left in the tank.’’

The Comets controlled the pace in an opening quarter which ended with Solon’s Jakarr Sampson’s layup at the buzzer, giving the Comets an 11-10 lead. Brogdon had nine of his team-high 23 points in the second quarter but Solon’s Kyle Goudy had seven to keep his team within striking range, 30-28.

‘‘We’re a second-half team,’’ said Raiders senior Chris Henderson, who finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and six steals. ‘‘We just had to do what we had to do. We had a bad week of practice and a bad first half, but we came through at the end.’’

A Fred Williams basket after a Jackson steal gave Harding a 45-36 lead in the third quarter. The Comets rallied back again behind 6-foot-7 sophomore Darryl Baldwin. Baldwin had 10 points in the frame and Solon trailed just 46-42 heading into the final quarter. Baldwin led his team with 24 points and seven rebounds.

Center Damian Eargle had a fine all-around performance for Harding, finishing with 16 points, six rebounds and five blocked shots. Jackson’s final line was nine points, nine assists, seven rebounds, four steals and a block. Goudy chipped in 11 points in a losing effort.

sports@tribune-chronicle.com