St. Ed, Harding met before
By MIKE McLAIN Tribune ChronicleTribune Chronicle
POSTED: March 7, 2008
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In a scrimmage on Harding’s floor before a large gathering of fans last November, St. Edward, which was considered among the elite teams in the nation, did a number on the Raiders.
“They dominated us,” Harding coach Steve Arnold said. “We didn’t play hard at all. They dictated the tempo and took us out of anything and everything we wanted to do, offensively and defensively. At that time, we said we’re not as good as we think we are. They physically beat us up in that scrimmage.”
As the saying goes, that was then and this is now. The Eagles, who lost to Cincinnati Moeller in the state semifinals last year, aren’t the same team that coach Eric Flannery planned to put in place for a run at a state championship.
St. Edward lost starters Delvon Roe and Alex Sterba for the season with knee injuries within the period of a few days. Before then the Eagles lost starting point guard Peashon Howard, who transferred to national power Oak Hill Academy in Virginia.
The loss of Roe, who has committed to Michigan State University, was the cruelest blow of all. The 6-foot-8 senior is one of the elite players in the country. His absence made the Eagles’ run to the regional final a more difficult experience.
“Coach Flannery loses three playmakers and starters, (NCAA) Division I kids, and he’s in the regional final,” Arnold said. “That shows you what type of program they have.”
The Eagles (21-4) advanced to the final by rallying in the second half for a 70-65 semifinal win over Elyria. The Raiders (23-1) advanced with an 88-61 win over Mentor.
St. Edward has had several players step up to make up for the losses of Roe, Sterba and Howard. At the forefront is 6-10 senior Tom Pritchard, who will attend Indiana University.
“He’s a wide body and is strong,” Arnold said. “He’s not going to Indiana for nothing.”
Arnold’s approach to Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. game at Cleveland State University’s Convocation Center is to forget about the problems St. Edward has had to deal with this season. He’s told the players that the Eagles remain a formidable opponent, even without some of their stars.
“That hasn’t even crossed the minds of our kids,” Arnold said of St. Edward’s missing parts. “In the back of our minds, we followed St. Ed’s throughout the course of the season. The road to Columbus out of the Cleveland district and regional goes through Lakewood St. Ed’s.
“They were there (at the state tournament) last year. A lot of the guys that were on that team last year are playing Saturday night.”
The Raiders have grown accustomed to meeting and defeating stiff competition. Their run through arguably the most-difficult district in the state included wins over talented Bedford and Cleveland Heights.
Harding used its district performances as a strong springboard to the regional. The Raiders scored the first nine points against Mentor and had the game won with a 32-12 lead late in the second quarter.
Chris Henderson, a 6-foot-8 senior, was a dominating inside force in scoring a game-high 30 points. Junior guard Sheldon Brogdon was steady as usual in scoring 18 points, while senior Damian Eargle had 12 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots.
Arnold couldn’t have been more pleased with the play on the defensive end against Mentor. The Raiders kept pressure on the perimeter, taking away Mentor’s outside game.
The Eagles present a different set of problems. Mentor has no one like Pritchard, who can be a load to handle inside. In addition, St. Edward was in the regional final last year and walked away with a win.
“It’s going to be a physical, hard-fought, up-and-down game on Saturday night,” Arnold said. “I just know that’s going to happen, and I know the team that has the will to win is going to come away victorious.”
It has the makings of a great game.
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