Harriton boys basketball team continues to battle
The high school boys’ basketball season might only be three weeks old, but the Harriton squad has certainly played in its share of close games already.
While the ball has not always bounced their way, Harriton (2-2 overall, 1-1 Central League) bounced back from a difficult loss to Ridley by earning a hard fought 66-61 win over Central League foe Radnor Dec. 16.
The contest against Radnor featured six lead changes in the final 10:15 of the second half before Harriton was able to fend off the pesky hosts, thanks to senior Idris Ransom and junior Griffin Berkowitz, who combined for five steals and shooting 6-for-8 from the free throw line in the final minute.
“This win is huge,” said Harriton boys’ basketball coach Jesse Rappaport following the game. “I have never felt worse for a team that has given me everything they had. We are completely undersized, inexperienced and has given me everything, every drop of blood, sweat and energy. I wanted this one for them and it shows hard work really pays off. They responded well this evening.”
“It was awesome,” said Harriton senior Will Esposto, who had to watch his team from the bench after suffering a dislocated shoulder late in the contest wrestling for a loose ball with Radnor’s Mason Ressler. “I heard the team saying we need to come together and do it for Will. The team pulled together. It was a pleasant surprise to see the team win a big game in a hostile environment.”
Harriton was led by Ransom, who finished with 23 points and seven steals and fellow senior Will Esposto, who finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and five steals.
Ressler’s 21 points and nine rebounds led the way for Radnor while Sami Ghazzi added 18 points and four rebounds and Tommy Webb chipped in with nine points.
While an injury can be devastating, it tends to take more of a toll on an inexperienced team when they lose a senior leader. When Esposto went down, Ransom took control of the huddle and got his team focused to finish strong and earn the win in a game they led from the opening tap.
“Idris really stepped up,” said Rappaport. “I’m not surprised because he has been playing well all year. He has gotten everybody in the right situation (telling people where to be and what play we are running). He has been like a coach on the floor and I don’t know where we would be without him. He got me focused after Will went down. It’s not easy to see one of your players suffer a devastating injury but he did a great job of getting everyone focused.”
“Will and I are close,” said Ransom. “It was a shock to us all when Will (Esposto) went down and as a senior leader for this team I knew I had to pull the younger kids together and they all did a great job stepping up.”
“To see him (Idris) step up and take responsibility was huge,” said Esposto. “He deserves the credit for bringing the team together. He showed leadership and that meant a lot for me. It was amazing.”
Radnor took brief leads late in the third and early in the fourth courtesy of three- pointers from Ghazzi but the Rams resiliency showed with younger players coming up huge.
Sophomore Demarcus Johnson came up with a big steal and called time-out as a Radnor player was trying to force a jump ball and junior Griffin Berkowitz came up with three big steals allowing Harriton to keep the lead and eventually gain the win.
“Griffin is a little pest on the court,” said Rappaport. “He and Idris led our team in deflections and steals. He tends to come out of nowhere. He was thrust into a bigger role and I challenged him and he has stepped up.”
Ransom added, “His steals were huge. He stopped the other team from scoring and that put us up top with the ball.”
With Harriton heading into the heart of its Central League schedule, Rappaport hopes this win will have a positive carry over effect.
