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Marion Harding Presidents High School Athletics

Harding Starts Second Season With Columbus West

          Marion Harding will be at home for Columbus West in their tournament opener in division III on Tuesday night.

          The Presidents (19-3), #4 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, are coming off a season in which they won 19 games and finished second in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference.

          Coach Jamie Pearson is proud of what they accomplished.  “We talked to our guys.  I had a veteran coach kind of bring this up to me.  We try to break it into three seasons.  It's a season before the holidays, it's a season after the holidays and then the postseason is a third season.  For us, we couldn't be happier with our regular season.  19 wins, which I think is tied for the most in the regular season in our schools 108 year history, but now it's the postseason,” he said.

          Columbus West (11-10) comes out the Columbus City League and Pearson feels it will be a challenge.  “We're in a district in Columbus where there's not a lot of easy wins, especially for us being the two seed and only having 16 teams.  We drew a really tough first round game with Columbus West.  They have a lot of history.  It's the Columbus City League, a lot of athletic kids.  They're very well coached.  They're going to play extremely hard and they are big and they are physical,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday afternoon, “Thankfully we have them in our place.  We kind of did a similar walkthrough on Thursday.  We played a team and it was a 7:00 PM start.  It was one game only.  There was no JV, so I feel like we're as prepared as we can be.  We just had a great practice (Monday), but you know when they throw the ball up anything could happen, so we'll see what (Tuesday) holds.”

          Harding beat Columbus South (47-44) last Friday and Pearson feels that was good prep for Tuesday.  “Why I liked it is they're similar in the sense of it's way different basketball.  Early in the season, early on, we played some Columbus schools.  We played Franklin Heights.  We played Licking Heights.  In the preseason scheduled teams that I would say are more athletic.  As we got into our league play, we saw less teams like that.  We saw disciplined, well coached teams, that really shot the heck out of the ball.  So, it's been a while for us since we've played that type of team.  I would say they were similar in a lot of ways.  South actually played West and beat them by five or six points probably a month ago.  West is a team that has a lot of seniors and they have more size than South, so they present some problems in how we match up with them,” said Pearson.

          Pearson says they understand how they have to play on Tuesday night.  “Nevertheless, it was a good matchup for us because it got us doing things a little crisper, meeting the pass, putting zip on our pass, not cutting corners when we're executing that, not staring down our passes.  So, it really was a good dress rehearsal as I’ve ever had in my coaching career the way it played out.  So, we'll see if it helps us when we when we play (Tuesday) night,” he said.

Published 2/18/25

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Harding Must Defend Well

          Marion Harding, in second place in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference standings, plays at home against Galion in conference play on Thursday night.

          The Presidents stuffed Marion Pleasant (47-29) in a conference game last Friday.

          Coach Jamie Pearson says they played well on both ends.  “A county rivalry game, they're well coached, they have got a couple of really nice players.  We were able to get it done.  Really happy now we're playing defensively.  We were able to defend them pretty well and then we hit some shots as well.  So, good to win a county league game on the road, I'm proud of our guys back and back at it this week,” said Pearson.

          Marion Harding (17-3,11-2), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, plays host to Galion (7-13,5-8), on Thursday.

          Pearson says they expect a good game.  “They gave us all we wanted earlier.  It was tied at halftime.  Their coach does a great job.  They have got some really good young players #1 (Jamesen) Glew is a heck of a player, #2 (Dominic) Capretta can play.  They mix that with a couple seniors with (Max) Albert and (Quinn) Miller.  So, they shoot it well, they move it well, they're smart team, and so we're expecting a battle for us here Thursday to end the “MOAC” season slate for us,” he said.

          Pearson says they need to make sure they are executing.  “We're working on us.  Just correcting the little things, making sure we're better at passing, executing a little crisper, just being able to run our offenses and our sets, ready for our zone offenses when people throw that at us,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “Just understanding who Galion is.  They shoot it well, they move it well.  Being able to just check out, that's something really been trying to emphasize.  It's been a key for us all year letting them only have one shot.  They do a pretty good job, their point guard especially, of breaking out and going coast to coast.  So, we just got to stop their transition when they run it and really contest their shooters.”

Published 2/12/25

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Harding Looks for Test Versus Pleasant

          Marion Harding, the second place team in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, plays at Pleasant on Friday night in an “MOAC” game.

          The Presidents (16-3,10-2), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, won three games last week.  They smoked Madison (70-49) in a non-conference game on Tuesday, downed Clear Fork (62-44) on Thursday and Ontario (70-47) on Saturday in league games.

          Coach Jamie Pearson says they did what they had to do each night.  “Just happy you know game by game and to get three wins was big.  Two of them were league wins.  We played Madison, we have a lot of respect for them and the league they're in.  We know they have a new coach, who's getting things put together and I'm sure the future will be bright there.  Going to Clear Fork has always been a tough place for us to play.  They have the (Garrett) Hotz kid, who's been really good all year.  They played this tough, but were able to break away toward the end of the game.  Then Saturday we welcomed Ontario to our place.  We know about their young guns.  They have a very bright future with all those talented freshmen and sophomores.  They jumped on us early and our kids showed are composure.  They got some really tough shots and we showed composure.  We kind of fought back and then we were able to kind of dictate the pace of the game.  We have some veteran guards and that helps.  As I said, they have got a lot of talent and they're learning every day.  I think their coach is doing a great job with him coach (Jerry) Moton,” said Pearson.

          Harding is at Pleasant (7-10,4-7) on Friday night.  The Spartans beat Ridgedale (56-35) in a non-league game on Monday night.

          Pearson says this is another rival game for them.  “I think the world of Pleasant and coach (Ben) Snively.  I think he's been around longer than anybody in the league.  They did something that we haven’t been able to do, which was beat “RV” and then they you know they had them on the ropes the second time in the fourth quarter.  So, anytime you play Pleasant it's one of those county rivalries.  For us it's a 10 minute bus ride to “RV” and a 15 minute bus ride to Pleasant.  They'll be excited at their place.  We were able to take care of them in our place, but they always play us tough at their place,” he said.

          Harding won the first game between the two (61-30) on January 4.

          Pearson says Pleasant has the kind of personnel to give them problems.  “They had a big win against Ridgedale, another county rival this week, where they played really well.  They have some young guys that get some varsity experience.  (Alec) Columber is one of them.  You have got (Evan) Sickmiller, their big kid and then they're senior (Lathan) McCants is playing out of this world,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday afternoon, “A lot of challenges for us you know going to their place in one of our last few league games of the season.  This would be a win for them they'd probably make their season to be able to beat a county rival much like they did when they beat “RV”.  So, we'll definitely be ready.  We won't look by them and we'll do all we can do to try to come out on top.”

Published 2/05/25

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Harding With Different Kinds of Challenges

          Marion Harding, the second place team in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, plays at Clear Fork on Thursday night and at home against Ontario in conference games this week.

          They fell out of a share of the league lead when they lost to (56-49) to River Valley last Friday.

          Coach Jamie Pearson was pleased with how they responded in a (70-49) non-conference win over Madison on Tuesday night.  “Yeah, it was a tough loss for us.  I know the kids were disappointed.  I was disappointed.  River Valley, not only were they the top of the league rival, but they're a county rival.  Their school is probably 10 minutes away from our school.  So, definitely not how we wanted the game to go,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Fortunately, until you get to the very end of the season you always get a chance to bounce back.  We have three games this week and it started off for us on Tuesday night.  Madison came to our place and we had one of our best halves of the year to start out the game.  We were able to get them.  So, I was pleased how we responded, but two giant league games coming up this week.  We have got to make sure we're ready for those and the challenges they bring.”

          Marion Harding (14-3,8-2), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, visits Clear Fork (5-10,2-7) on Thursday night.  The Colts are coming off a (82-68) shellacking from Galion on Monday night in conference action.

          Harding won the first meeting (59-39) on December 20.

          Pearson says playing at Clear Fork can be tough.  “They always play us tough.  We got them by 20, but it was tight going in the third quarter.  They have one of the best players in the league in Garrett Hotz.  I think he's second or third in the league in scoring at 18 points per game.  He's also I think the only first teamer returning to the league.  So, it all goes through him and you do what you can to try to contain him.  You can never stop him.  Then they have some other good young players coming around.  Carter Coole really has it going on, one of their guards.  When you go to their place it's a little different gym.  The fans are right on top of the court.  They have great community support.  So, we definitely know it's going to be a challenge.  So, we're getting the kids ready for it on a little bit of a short turn around,” said Pearson.

          The Presidents edged Ontario (42-41) back on December 23.

          Pearson calls the Warriors athletic and well coached.  “It starts with their freshmen Flenoury and Brown.  They're two of the leading scorers in the league.  Definitely the future is bright.  Coach (Jerry) Moton is doing a great job over.  Their youth and how hard they're playing.  They took us down to the buzzer.  We had to hit one with 20 seconds left.  Boston Pearson had a put back to give us a one point lead and then we're able to shut them down.  Definitely respect them.  We know they have a lot of talent, they're well coached.  We barely got out of there with win last time.  So, definitely will be a challenge for us and they definitely have some talent over there,” he said.

Published 1/30/25

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Harding Wants to Run

          Marion Harding and River Valley collide in a battle between co-leaders in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference on Friday night.

          Harding has its last 10 games, including “MOAC” wins over Shelby (46-40) and Highland (52-42) last week.

          Coach Jamie Pearson says they sort of held serve if you will.  “Just really impressed with how Shelby's coming along.  I know they've had a lot of uh things going on in terms of injuries and whatnot, but they came into our place and played exceptionally hard and it was a really tight game.  We were fortunate enough to come up on top and I was pleased with our effort.  Then any time with our league this year any time you go on the road it's anybody's game.  Highland has a lot of length.  I have a lot of respect for what they're doing with their program.  We were able to get out of there on top.  So, we kind of hold serve if you will and that sets up a big game for us this week,” he said.

          Marion Harding (13-2,8-1), #5 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, is at River Valley (11-2,7-1), #3 in our poll, on Friday night.  The Vikings beat Pleasant (56-48) on Saturday in league play.  They whipped West Liberty-Salem (76-50) in a Monday holiday tournament game.

          Pearson says they have tremendous depth.  “I think it starts with their point guard Chase Ebert.  Just as a team they're one of the best passing teams that I've seen and then they all shoot it.  You look at their stats and they're all close to 40% shooting from the three.  So, they really know how to play basketball.  When you talk about Ebert, the senior, he does it all.  Then they got a couple kids that can shoot.  They have got Weston, the other guard, that can do a little bit of everything.  Then they got Chase Smith, who's definitely phenomenal too.  Their leading scorer is Meyers, the sophomore, who's doing some really good things.  Then they have some good bench pieces with #13 coming off the bench and then they have got a good big kid in #0.  So, very, very well-rounded team.  They got the better of us at their place earlier in the season.  We're looking forward to a rematch.  We're glad it's in our place but it will be quite a challenge for us,” said Pearson.

          River Valley won the first matchup (64-56) on December 14.

          Pearson says there are a number of things they need to do better, but first on his list is rebounding and transition offense.  “We have got to make a few more shots.  We have got to guard them harder.  The way they play they play, they're very spurtable.  So, when they get it going, they really get it going.  So, you have got to be able to contain them when they go on their runs.  You have got to be able to answer when they score, you have got to be able to score.  You have got to take care of the basketball,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday afternoon, “Really to me a big key in this game with be transition.  They do a great job of pushing the ball down the floor.  We have got to get back, stop the ball, and match up.  Then we have got to try to get our transition going a little bit as well.  Then just some of the little things like the rebounding.  They do such a good job rebounding.  They're not overly big in terms of height, but they all go after the ball.  They shoot it a bunch and then they know how to chase it down.  So, I think transition and rebounding is a great key to focus on and whoever wins that likely is going to win the game.”

Published 1/23/25

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Harding Doing What it Takes

          Marion Harding, the co-leader in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference, will be at home for defending champion Shelby on Thursday night in league play.

          They play at Highland on Saturday.

          The Presidents (11-2,6-1) has won its last eight games and coach Jamie Pearson says they have a nice combination of players with experience.  “This is my fourth year at Harding.  We kind of have a system in place.  We've had a lot of kids buy into the system, so that's been a big plus for us.  The senior class now were freshmen when I was first here.  Guys like Parker Iden, one of our senior guards, this is his fourth year with me.  So, I think experience matters, familiarity with the system matters and I think that's really important.  I think the second thing that we're strong with is our guard play.  We have two senior guards.  We have got, as I mentioned, Parker Iden is our shooting guard and he's really been shooting well lately.  Then Logan Thrapp leads the “MOAC” in assists and he's also scoring the ball for us.  So, we have got pretty good guard play and then throw in our 6’6” junior kind of big man Boston Pearson,” said Pearson.

          Pearson says they have high expectations for the season.  “It's a good place to start when you have a good point guard and you have got a little size inside that can score.  Then just kind of fill in the pieces with some other guys that are willing to do whatever role you need to do.  We have some sophomores that have stepped up and do that we got a couple of juniors we've done that too.  So, I give a lot of credit to our kids.  I have a lot of expectations for our program, for our kids, and I expect a lot out of them and so far in the season they've lived up to that,” he said.

          Shelby (7-5,5-2) is a game back in the standings.  They are coming off a (60-50) win over Pleasant in a conference game on Saturday.

          The Presidents beat Shelby (78-70) in overtime December 10.

          Pearson still believes the road to the conference title goes through Shelby.  “We're halfway through this league, so a lot can still happen.  Since I've been here Shelby's won the league every single year I think, so to me they’re still the team to beat and we're treating it as such.  We felt very fortunate to go over there and get a win.  It's one of the toughest gyms and places I've ever played as a coach.  So, we're looking at still if we want to be the best in the league, we have got to beat the team that's been the best and to me that's still Shelby,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday evening, “They have got a great point guard.  They have some other players with some experience as well.  I think they'd have a really good coach and they have a system and they have a bunch of kids that win it whatever they do.  So, we're taking this like it's as important game as any on our schedule.  We know it's going to be a great challenge.  We've really had a good week to prep for them.  So, when they throw the ball up on Thursday night we'll see what happens but, I think our kids will be ready.”

Published 1/16/25

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Clear Fork Pounds Marion Harding

          Bekah Conrad scored 10 of her game high 18 points in the pivotal third quarter and Clear Fork beat Marion Harding (53-35) in a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference game on Saturday night.

          They share second place in the conference with Marion Pleasant, which beat them (79-78) in four overtimes on Thursday.  Shelby, with a (59-53) win over River Valley on Saturday claimed the outright “MOAC” title.

          It was a ragged first half for the Lady Colts as they seemed a little overanxious and Harding did a good job defending the post.  There were four ties and four lead changes before Clear Fork scored three of the last four field goals, two of them by Annika Labaki, to take a (20-18) halftime lead.

          Clear Fork coach Scott Sellers says really they were trying too hard.  “We talked to them at halftime and told them to get settled down.  I think we come out with so much energy at times and we forget we can run our offense, we can go inside out.  I think the pace of play sometimes even this late in the season gets to us because they just so excited and want to play so hard,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “We are deeper.  Harding has some good players, but our focus all year has been play eight, play nine, play fast, play hard, and whatever happens, happens.  We were really positive with them at halftime and came out and preformed in the second half.”

          Harding coach Cory White feels they got some good pressure on the Clear Fork guards forcing some turnovers and kept the ball out of Conrad’s hands on the block in the first half.  “We don’t have a lot of subs. So subbing is always an issue with us and the longevity of them being able to keep their stamina up.  We did a really good job in the first half of pressuring the guards and double teaming Bekah down low and playing really good help side defense and keeping that pressure up.  The second half came out and we were a little flat and the girls were getting beat off the dribble.  We are usually a team that is solid keeping the ball in front of us.  It was a little surprising, so we have to go back and watch film and work on it,” said White.

          In the first 5:25 of the third quarter, Clear Fork outscored Harding (15-3) to put the game on ice, punctuated by a three by Labaki for the top of the key.  Conrad scored on three straight possessions in the middle of the quarter talking to lead from five (26-21) to 11 (32-21) in space of just 1:41.

          Sellers says they were able to get the ball to the 6’4” Conrad more successfully in the second half.  “Steiman-Ross, who was first team all conference last year got in a little bit of foul trouble and that helped.  We did a good job of reversing the ball, Bekah did a good job sealing and we like to look into her, especially when she is single covered.  There have been a lot of times this year when she will get double, triple covered and that leaves girls outside open.  We didn’t see that as much (Saturday), but I thought overall she did a really good job of sealing and we did a better job of getting her the ball in the second half,” said Sellers.

          Justice Steiman-Ross had 13 for Harding despite being saddled with foul trouble most of the night.

          In the first meeting on December 18, Clear Fork won (52-26) at Harding and Conrad had a career high 32.

          White says they were committed to limiting her more this time and it worked for a while.  “I think the first game we played she had 32 and we had 26 points, so she outscored our whole team.  That was something we wanted to work on.  We did not have a couple of our girls the first time we played them, so we wanted to come out and game plan and get after it a little bit and keep her off the boards and keep her out of the paint with the ball.  It worked for a little bit, but she is good and she has a lot of good girls around her that get her the ball and help her out,” he said.

          The success in the post also opened up some perimeter shots for Clear Fork and Labaki finished with 12 and six other Lady Colts scored at least two points.

          Sellers says the success Conrad had in the third quarter opened some things up on the perimeter for them.  “She would be incredibly difficult for us to play against and have to game plan for.  With her size and the fact that she does move well and is in good shape, she is super coachable it frees everything up when we can get it to her inside and get her a couple of buckets and you see them collapse and we were able to get a couple of shots,” he said.

Published 1/29/22

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Fourth Quarter Surge Give Shelby Big Win

          Shelby outscored Marion Harding (24-17) in the fourth quarter and downed the Presidents (63-54) Saturday night at the “Doghouse” to remain in a share of first place in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference with River Valley.

          The Vikings beat Ontario (65-39) on Saturday.  Harding drops a game behind the leaders.

          With Shelby leading (39-37) entering the final quarter, the Whippets and Presidents traded punches early in the quarter with Harding taking a (44-43) lead on a three pointer by Caden Jones with 6:26 to play in the game.  However, Shelby responded with a key (8-2) run started by an Alex Bruskotter hoop and punctuated by a free throw by Bruskotter with 3:00 left giving the Whippets a (51-46) advantage.  Shelby would stretch the lead to as much as (60-49) on two more Bruskotter charity tosses with :26 to play.

          Harding led by many as five (29-24) with two free throws by Jones with 4:30 to play in the second quarter.

          Shelby coach Gregg Galloway says they did a much better job in the second half of keeping Harding out of lane.  “We track some different game goals each game about the paint touch battle.  In the first half they were plus 12 in paint touches.  So, that was an emphasis in the second half to keep them out of the paint.  Offensively, we want to win the paint on that end.  I thought we did a good job containing some of their drivers.  They are a great team and we knew it was a battle, a four quarter game.  I was just really happy the way we responded in the second half,” said Galloway.

          Harding coach Jamie Pearson says Shelby made some halftime adjustments that game them some problems.  “They did some things to bug us.  We have had a bad run.  Every team has those now between COVID and injuries and a lot of other things.  We are down some guys, not to make excuses because I am a big next man up type of guy.  They had a good game plan for us and they were able to bug us a little bit, so give them a lot of credit,” he said.

          Shelby (12-3,8-1), #3 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the large school division, made 26 of 32 free throws on the night and 14 of 18 in the fourth quarter, Bruskotter made of 8 of 10 in the quarter.

          Galloway said the reacted well to the physical nature and kept to their game plan.  “It was the most physical game we have played all year.  It was a huge “MOAC” game for us.  We had a game Thursday night and we wanted to focus on that, but we knew we only had one day to prep for one the biggest games we played all year.  Our guys did a great job of keeping composed and sticking to the game plan.  It was a great second half.  I thought we made the adjustments we needed,” he said.

          Shelby pressed either in the half or full court forcing some turnovers, but Pearson says they handled it well.  He says they played shorthanded.  “We have no problem with pressure all season.  It was a tough week for us.  We played Tuesday and came back Thursday.  When you are playing a game with league title implications you would like to have more than one day of practice, but hey, they were in the same boat,” he told Swankonsports.com after the game, “For us it was a little more challenging because we are missing some guys.  Give them all of the credit, they made the plays at the end and we were able to do that.”

          Bruskotter led three Whippets in double figures with 24, Issaiah Ramsey added 16 and Andre Hill 13.  Wesley Stokes led the Presidents with 22, but was only one for three on dunks, and Riley Keeran with 14.

          Harding played without C.J. Temple, who leads the “MOAC” assists and steals this year.

          Shelby plays Mansfield Senior (4-10) at Pete Henry on Tuesday in a non-conference game.

          Galloway says the way the game that was played Saturday night should help them on Tuesday.  “It was definitely help us.  When we look at next week, we are going to play a very similar team when it comes to athleticism in Mansfield Senior.  I think it’s a good game to prepare for that game.  We have another league next week (with Galion.)  We just have to keep building game by game.  I thought our guys did a nice job (Saturday) night,” he said.

Published 1/22/22

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