Staff photo / Brian Yauger Girard’s Thomas Cardiero drives to the basket between Kennedy’s Michael Condoleon (2) and Nick Ryan (14). Cardiero hit a first quarter buzzer-beater to tie the game at 18 which sparked the team throughout the game in a win over the Eagles.
GIRARD — While a buzzer-beater to end the first quarter obviously didn’t decide the game, Girard’s Thomas Cardiero hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 18 and gave the team an extra kick.
It was back and forth the entire contest, but the Indians buckled down with the help of Cardiero and Gus Johnson combining for 42 points to help Girard push past Kennedy 57-55 on Tuesday.
“Down the stretch again,” Indians coach Craig Hannon said. “All of our games except the one at Jefferson have been close games. The kids know how to execute late, we just have to make a few more free throws. I thought defensively we did a great job late. We got a big stop when we needed it.”
Girard played from behind for large portions of the second half. Johnson, who scored 26 points, hit a 3-pointer with three minutes remaining to erase the last deficit the Indians would have all evening.
Kennedy’s Nico Ciminero went back and matched it, but as the teams traded baskets and time ticked away, the Eagles couldn’t skirt the Girard defense.
Cardiero, who had 16 points on the night, has thrived this season despite being a focal point for opposing teams’ defenses.
“He’s had a great year,” Hannon said. “We knew that coming in. He’s going to be someone that teams are going to focus on and he’s contributed and performed as we thought he would.”
The Indians sit at 5-2 on the year with losses to Lowellville and Jefferson. Originally scheduled to face Mathews before the game had to be delayed, Kennedy stepped in to give Girard a game. Hannon is trying to get as many games in as they can right now before they get into the meat of the schedule.
“We’re just trying to gain a rhythm before we really get into the Northeast-8 schedule,” Hannon said.
Up next, the Indians take on another strong Division IV program in McDonald.
Kennedy was led on the scoresheet by Jaden Rishel with 19 points and Michael Condoleon with 17. The team was down its point guard in Hayden Wait.
After a late start to the season due to postseason success in football, the Eagles, who boast a youth-packed lineup with only two seniors in the rotation, are still getting up to speed.
The team sits at 0-3 with losses to Kennedy and Mogadore before Tuesday’s loss. The game with Girard was its closest match thus far and was described by coach Mark Komlanc as “a step in the right direction.”
“I just told them that this is a moral victory,” Komlanc said. “It’s game three and we haven’t had scrimmages and we’re young, but at this point in time we want to get wins. We played solid for about 25 minutes, but there were seven minutes throughout where we just had brain farts.
“You’ll have that, but I think it’s overall, a positive improvement from where we were to now. That’s our goal. We need to improve every game and get ready for game 23.”
Kennedy has some time to rest and prepare before its next contest. While they plan to get a scrimmage going in the meantime to keep their feet moving, the Eagles’ next tilt won’t be until 2022 when they host Heartland Christian on Jan. 4.