GALION — Galion opened up Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference play at home on Friday night. The Tigers fell to Marion Harding by a score of 72-57. A quick start for the Presidents was too much for the Tigers to overcome throughout this one.
“There is no doubt that our effort is there,” explained Galion head coach Ryan Stover. “We play physical. Tonight we just weren’t disciplined enough to take advantage of some of the mistakes Harding had. Give them credit, they’re long and athletic. That is a good team.”
The Presidents (2-1, 1-0 MOAC) jumped out to a 7-0 lead early and eventually led 19-8 after eight minutes. Marquis Long started the game hot with 10 points for Harding.
Long led Harding with 21 points, while Marcus Hemphill and Jeff Jones each added 11. Trey Cady scored 10 points for the Presidents. Harding had three players off the bench score double digits in this one.
Galion (1-1, 0-1 MOAC) was able to find a bit of offense in the second quarter. Elijah Chafin chipped in five points, while Coen Fuson knocked down four free throws. At the break, Harding led Galion 38-23. Galion was able to get it down to a five-point lead, but a Harding timeout led to a nice run. Cady scored seven points for Harding in the second quarter to lead the way.
The Presidents built a 20-point lead in the third quarter before Galion fought back to make it a 10-point game to end the half. With eight minutes to go the Tigers trailed Harding, 51-41. A big and-1 from Fuson followed by a nice drive by Cooper Kent capped off the quarter for Galion.
Kent fouled out at the 2:49 mark of the fourth quarter. It was a big loss for the Tigers late as they needed points quickly with little time to go. Harding hit nine free throws in the final quarter to close it out.
“That hurt us. He was trying to do something, it happens. We tried to get others to step in, which we did. We tried to extend the game, which we did,” said Stover.
Galion would get 18 points from Kent and Chafin pitched in 15 of his own. Fuson scored eight while Jacob Powers had his first four points in the young season.
Galion will be off until Dec. 8, when they’ll travel to take on Clear Fork.
“We’re going to refresh our minds this weekend. Monday we’ll get back to work. We have Clear Fork on Thursday, who has gotten a lot better. We’re in a dog fight every game.”
