CANTON: Ellet basketball coach Mark Fisher says he appreciates a moral victory as much as the next guy.
Just not when he felt his team had an upset in the palm of its hands and let it slip away.
That’s how it went on Sunday during the fifth annual Dunk4Diabetes charity event at Walsh University’s Alumni Arena, where three of the five games went into overtime.
The Orangemen came within 70 seconds of upsetting highly regarded Warren Harding before losing 70-67 in overtime in the fourth of five games that attracted about 30 college coaches, including Illinois coach John Groce, the University of Akron’s Keith Dambrot and a slew of Mid-American Conference assistants.
Harding, ranked ninth in the latest Associated Press state poll of Division I schools, won the game when senior guard Gabe Simpson’s 3-point basket beat the buzzer and spoiled Ellet’s gallant effort that included two comebacks from double-digit deficits.
Simpson’s 3-pointer came 30 seconds after he had tied the game at 67-67 with a steal and another 3-pointer, wiping out Ellet’s 67-64 lead that it forged on a layup by junior Marquis Bridges and a putback by junior A.J. Gareri with 1:10 left in overtime.
“I believe in moral victories but not when we had the game won,” said Fisher, whose team slipped to 9-5 and is heading into a big City Series week with games against Kenmore and Firestone. “There were plenty of positives in that game. Bridges came up big, A.J. played his butt off and we played with a lot of resolve. Harding is a good team, big and athletic. We showed a lot of heart. We just have to move forward.”
Gareri, 6-foot-9, took game honors with 29 points and team honors with 10 rebounds. Bridges fought off foul trouble to finish with 18 points, including 12 in the second half and overtime.
Harding’s size and scoring depth helped it improve to 12-1. While the 5-11 Simpson finished as the Raiders’ leading scorer and was chosen as the game’s Most Valuable Player with 22 points, 6-7 Shakem Johnson had 19 points and nine rebounds and 6-11 junior Derek Culver had seven points and led all rebounders with 15. Junior guard Tiryn Frank scored all 13 of his points over the final 20 minutes.
On the positive side, the Orangemen nearly upset Harding, despite shooting just 35 percent from the field — including 5-of-22 on 3-point attempts and being outrebounded 42-39. Harding went 25-of-52 from the floor (48 percent) and made 14-of-23 free throws compared with 10-of-15 for Ellet.
Regulation ended with the score tied at 61-61 and each team turned the ball over in the final 12 seconds. Ellet took possession with 4.7 seconds left but couldn’t get a shot off.
Brunswick 62, Walsh Jesuit 53
The Blue Devils presented coach Joe Mackey with the 300th victory of his 20-year career in overtime when they outscored the Warriors 13-4, led by seniors Zach Cebula, Kevin Simmons and Aaron Badowski. Cebula led Brunswick (13-3) with 18 points, Simmons finished with 17 and Badowski had 14, including six in the overtime.
That threesome offset a 30-point night by Kent State recruit Mitch Peterson. The Warriors fell to 9-5.
Senior Mike Quiring’s layup pulled Brunswick into a tie at 49-49 with 1:18 remaining but neither team could score as time expired. Badowski scored his six points on free throws after the Blue Devils took the lead for good on a Quiring basket with 2:21 remaining in overtime.
Lakewood St. Edward 78, Green 48
The Bulldogs fell under a 3-point barrage. Junior Jack Sullivan scored a season-high six 3-point field goals and the Eagles (10-4) ran their winning streak to three in a row. The Bulldogs (4-11) fell behind early and trailed 44-22 at the half. Senior Noah Glass led Green with 15 points and shared team rebounding honors with junior Zach Ganzer with five.
St. Edward made 29-of-59 (49.2 percent) field goal attempts, including 17-of-39 on 3-point shots. Junior guard Jack Sullivan led the Eagles with 18 points.