GIRARD WINS AT THE BUZZER
By Matt Maher
GIRARD, OH – The day finally came! Girard earned their first win of the season over Niles Friday night by putting up a close score of 38-36. Ahmad curd had himself a nice night with 16 points and would be the hero Girard needed most.
Girard came out with the first 2 points of the game but Niles responded with 2 made 3’s from Anthony Budak and Niles went on to outscore Girard 8-4 after 1. Anthony Budak would put up all 8 for Niles while Stephen Sims found all 4 from within the paint for the Indians.
Things ramped up for Girard in the 2nd, scoring 13 points and limiting Niles to just 6 The Indians had the momentum they needed going into halftime leading 17-14. Niles saw True Cary-Harden score a long 3 while Yausene Blackmon found a nice layup down low. Girard saw the entrance of Ahmad curd to the floor with 6 points off of 2 made 3’s he had found the energy he needed. Kaiden Clare put up 5 points with a 2 and the 3 points that would give them the lead off of 3 made free throws he received after being fouled from shooting beyond the arc.
Niles had a hefty response in the 3rd with 15 points to Girards 9. Girard saw Ahmad Curd score 4 more points in the paint while Sims added 3 more from a 2 and 1 of 2 free throws made. Stefan Dorsey added some numbers to his stat sheet with 5 points including a contested 3. And Blackmon would add 4 more points to his total.
The two teams played a close 4th with both teams trading 1 point leads before eventually seeing the game tied at 36. With 3 seconds left Girard called a timeout in order to receive an inbound closer to the hoop and from the inbound the Indians found Ahmad curd who would sprint down the court and push his way to the hoop and put in a gritty layup to seal the deal and send Niles home heartbroken! Harden put up 4 more points to finish with his team leading 10 while Girard saw most of their action from the free throw line where Dom Phillips went 4 for 8 and Curd went 2 for 6 while also finding two 2’s and finishing with his team leading 16 points.
It’s been a tough year for these young men but good things come to those who wait and work hard to achieve their goals and Girard certainly did both and they got to celebrate a big positive on this sour season. Niles (2-10) (0-6) will stay on the road when they face Lakeview on January 16th at 7:00PM and Girard (1-11) (1-5) will stay at home when they host South Range on January 16th at 7:00PM.
