Harding rallies to topple Central

BRIDGEPORT -- His team saddled with injuries, Central coach Barry McLeod is trying to keep this season from spinning out of control.

That task is growing more difficult for the Hilltoppers, who watched a 17-point halftime lead disintegrate in a 67-62 loss to rival Harding Friday on their home floor.

"We're in a tough spot here. We are down body-wise," said McLeod, handcuffed by a four-man bench. "I've never had this type of thing happen to me."

"Dondre (Daniels) played hurt; the back of his hand is hurt. (Dyshaun) Pulliam was out with a sprained ankle, and (Oumar) Keita is out with torn ligaments."

Conversely, 11 players scored for Harding (5-3), who ran past the Hilltoppers 46-24 in the second half.

"It reinforces what I've been teaching and preaching," Harding coach Charles Clemons said of the comeback. "Our core values are `attack, make the extra pass, and play with a chip on your shoulder.'"

Guard Zach Stewart took those values to heart, draining three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Stewart finished with 12 points, and guard TJ Killings scored 21 points to lead all players.

"I've been having a rough season this year, but I guess this game was my breakout game," Stewart said. "I'm going to take this game and keep going."

Stewart drilled 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions midway through the fourth quarter to give Harding its largest lead, 57-47. Central (5-3) got as close as two points down the stretch, but it came up empty too many times.

After leading 38-21 at halftime, the Hilltoppers began to unravel in the third. They hit only one field goal during a five-minute stretch, and they allowed Harding -- which outscored the Hilltoppers 23-6 in the third -- to take its first lead since the game's opening minutes.

The offensive inefficiency left McLeod shaking his head.

"We didn't score at the end of the third quarter," McLeod said. "They beat us in the third quarter. We just did a number of things wrong.

"It was ridiculous."

Center Fitzroy Henry, who missed time earlier this year with the flu, led Central with 18 points.Marcus Blackwell had 15 points, and Daniels scored 13.

The defending FCIAC and Class LL champions will look to snap their two-game skid Monday against New Haven powerhouse Hillhouse (6-1) in the Martin Luther King Classic at Bridgeport's Webster Bank Arena. They'll tip off at 6 p.m., and Harding will take on Wilbur Cross in the same event at 2 p.m.

At this point, McLeod is simply hoping for some improved luck.

"We had three starters we were missing tonight," he said.

Against Harding, Central led 19-14 after one quarter and by as many as 17 points in the second thanks to 17-3 run.

dbonjour@ctpost.com; twitter.com/DougBonjour

HARDING (5-3)

TJ Killings 6 9-15 21 Zach Stewart 4 1-3 12 Taisun Phommachanh 4 3-6 11 Okoe Nash 0 1-2 1 Keon Evans 2 0-1 4 Tavari Davis 0 0-0 0 Marquis Davis 1 3-3 5 Eric Moore 0 1-2 1 Calvin Seward 2 0-2 4 Justin Sheffield 0 2-2 2 Tremaine Pettway 2 0-0 4 Will Figueroa 0 0-0 0 Ramir Johnson 0 0-0 0 Johniel Morales 0 0-0 0 Anthony Gadsden 0 2-4 2. Totals 21 22-40 67.

CENTRAL (5-3)

Quinton Ballew 3 2-5 8 Marcus Blackwell 4 6-8 15 Dondre Daniels 4 4-6 13 Jordan Edmonds 0 0-0 0 Jonathan Hartley 0 0-0 0 Joaquim Johnson 3 0-0 6 Charles Richardson 1 0-7 2 Kaysone Washington 0 0-0 0 Fitzroy Henry 6 6-6 18. Totals 21 18-32 62.

HARDING.............................. 14 7 23 23 -- 67

CENTRAL.............................. 19 19 6 18 -- 62

3-pointers: H -- Stewart 3; C --Daniels, Blackwell. Technical fouls: C -- Henry.