Even though the Howland Tigers scored an imposing 63 points on Friday, the Harding Raiders still came out on top. Harding secured a 68-63 W over Howland. Given Harding's advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 83rd, while Howland is ranked 290th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Harding to victory, but perhaps none more so than Davion Herron, 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.
Despite the loss, Howland had strong showings 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 29 points set a new season-high mark for him. The team also got some help courtesy of Tj Douglas, who scored 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.
The win makes it two in a row for Harding and bumps their season record up to 6-3. As for Howland, they now have a losing record at 5-6.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Harding will take on South at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. South has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 188 points over their last three matchups. As for Howland, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Poland Seminary at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
