If the Howland Tigers were riding high off their 63-19 takedown of the Struthers Wildcats last Saturday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. Howland fell to Harding 68-63. While losing is never fun, Howland can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 290th, while Harding is ranked 83rd).
Defeat or not, Howland got some senior leadership from Alex Henry who scored 29 points along with six rebounds and John Perry who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 11 rebounds. Those 16 points set a new season-high mark for him. Tj Douglas was another key contributor, scoring five points.
Even though they lost, Howland were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Harding only pulled down three offensive rebounds.
Harding got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Davion Herron out in front who scored 19 points along with five rebounds. That's the first time this season that Herron scored 15 or more points. Another player making a difference was Gummy Hart, who scored 16 points.
Howland now has a losing record at 5-6. As for Harding, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 6-3.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Howland will take on Poland Seminary at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Harding, they will be playing in front of their home fans against South at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in South's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last three matches.
