Harrison Central Remains Red Hot
Huskies Win 4th Straight On The Road
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ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- With the calendar now flipped to February, the OVAC Tournament set for next week and the Eastern District tournament drawing slated for Sunday, basketball teams are aiming to turn it up a notch.
Harrison Central actually did that more than a week ago and continued its red-hot play Friday night on John Jenkins Court at St. Clairsville High School.
The Huskies earned their fourth straight win, all of which have been away from the friendly confines of their home gymnasium, by virtue of 64-54 victory against the Red Devils (8-10). In the span of eight days, Harrison Central has defeated Buckeye Local, Martins Ferry, East Liverpool and now St. C.
"Coming into here (to St. Clairsville) and getting a win is big for our guys, especially our seniors, since this is a rivalry game for us," Harrison Central first-year head coach Aaron Foldi said. "We've continued to play with a high urgency, have good energy on the bench and it carries over to the floor."
The Huskies brought the energy right out of the gate when it jumped to a 21-10 lead after one. They got solid play from their senior floor leader, Jace Madzia, established Mykel Quito on the interior and senior Kaden Jurosko had a hot hand from the perimeter.
That type of play and balanced contributions have been key to the Huskies' winning streak in the last couple of weeks.
"We were doomed from the start of the game because we dug ourselves too big of a hole," St. C. head coach Ryan Clifford said. "Things that Harrison Central has done well over the last couple of weeks is getting off to a good start and Quito has really come on as their third scoring option."
Actually, Quito was the chief scoring option against the Red Devils. He finished with 22 points, netting 12 of those in the second half. It seemed as if each time St. Clairsville was gaining traction, Harrison was able to find Quito or he did work on the glass. He completed the double-double with 12 rebounds.
"We've been telling Mykel all season that he needs to be that physical presence on the court that we, as coaches, knew he could be," Foldi said. "He's been awesome for us the past three games."
Even when Quito went to the bench, the Huskies' size on the interior was simply too much for the Red Devils to overcome. Whether it was Cabot Arbaugh, Daniel Ody or Clayton Vermillion, Harrison's front-court depth was a clear factor.
"Their size is tough to replicate in practice," Clifford pointed out. "They're big. We battled, but we missed some shots we normally make. It felt like each time we were about to get over the hump, something bad happened and a lot of that was because of Harrison. They bump you inside, always have high hands and there's very rarely a clean look inside."
The Huskies' inside players combined for 32 points and 25 rebounds.
Still, however, St. Clairsville was able to stay close. Actually, the Red Devils found themselves down just six after three. They hung around thanks to the play of sophomore Tyson Pastor, who continued his brilliant season. He nine of St. C.'s points in the third and finished with 31 for the game.
The Huskies, however, had an answer for the Devils in the fourth. St. Clairsville got as close as four on two different occasions in the final quarter, but they pushed it back to eight and then nine with spurts of their own.
"Similar to our game against Martins Ferry, these guys are resilient and just don't give up," Foldi said. "All of our kids are bought in and I love the energy they played with late in the game."
After being held scoreless for three panels, junior Hayden Cassidy got three buckets in transition. Quito and Madzia both had six points as well.
"To be honest, I thought if we locked down (Cassidy), I didn't think Harrison could beat us," Clifford admitted. "We used a bunch of guys on him and they did a good job of holding him down, but the end goal isn't to hold him down. It's to (score) more points than them."
Quito was complemented by Madzia's 16 points. Jurosko added 10.
St. Clairsville, meanwhile, was led by Pastor, who also notched eight rebounds. Junior Cole Thoburn posted 13 points in top support.
The Huskies held a 35-18 edge on the glass. The winners were charted for just nine turnovers, which was two fewer than the Devils.
Both teams are in action on Tuesday. Harrison Central (11-7) will trek to Weir for a Class 4A semifinal, while the Devils will host Brooke in an OVAC consolation game.