Harreld, ACC shoot down St. Edward
Shooters shoot. And they keep shooting no matter what.
Aurora Central Catholic’s Ryan Harreld is a shooter.
The senior missed his first 10 3-point attempts Friday night at St. Edward. But he hit back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the fourth quarter to turn a 1-point deficit into a 5-point lead and the Chargers went on to beat the Green Wave, 66-55, in Suburban Christian Conference Gold action in Elgin.
“Coach gave me the green light the whole game,” Harreld said. “It was a rough start.”
With the game tied 29-29 in the third quarter, ACC (11-11, 7-2) went on an 11-0 run in 1 minute, 35 seconds to take a 40-29 lead. Five different players scored for the Chargers during the run.
After a St. Edward timeout, Michael Ellis and Edward O’Halloran got the Green Wave (6-17, 2-7) back in the game. Ellis scored 8 points and O’Halloran added 5 as St. Edward ended the third on a 13-4 run to get within 2, 44-42, heading to the fourth.
“It’s playing good defense, make our shots and stop turning the ball over,” said Green Wave coach P.J. White, who saw his team commit 19 turnovers in the first three quarters. “Turnovers hurt us for a while.”
A Ryan Murray layup with 3:48 remaining gave St. Edward a 51-50 lead. Harreld then finally found his shooting touch. His back-to-back 3-pointers, as Green Wave defenders cheated inside, sparked an 11-0 run and a 62-51 lead with 40 seconds left.
“I wouldn’t have guarded him either because he was like 0-for-50 at that point,” ACC coach Nate Drye joked. “He kept shooting and made the ones when we really needed him to.”
Robert DeMyers had 17 points and 7 rebounds for ACC. Joey McEachern added 15 points, 11 in the first half, and 9 rebounds. Harreld finished with 13 points, 10 in the fourth. Tim Fernandez had 10 points and 7 rebounds.
Ellis scored 20 points, including 16 in the second half, and grabbed 6 rebounds on Senior Night. O’Halloran, a junior, finished with 17 points. No other St. Edward player had more than 4 points.
“We came out and played one of our best games all season,” Ellis said. “We played with heart and intensity. It was Senior Night and lots of emotion.”