BOARDMAN Stefanovic towers over Kent in win

The Spartans' 6-foot-9 center scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- The Kent Roosevelt had a tall order on Saturday night -- stopping Boardman High senior Nick Stefanovic.
The 6-foot-9 center scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds as the Spartans overwhelmed Kent 67-46 at Boardman High School.
"I didn't make as many stupid fouls tonight," said Stefanovic, who fouled out in Boardman's loss to Chaney Friday. "I think I played smarter and more aggressive."
Stefanovic scored 10 of his points in the second half as Boardman avoided a letdown the night after blowing a 10-point fourth quarter lead.
"We watched the film [Saturday] morning," Spartans coach Dan Gorski said. "I think we learned from our mistakes and learned that, if anything, we might not have been as bad as we thought. Chaney just made some plays at the end of the game."
Mike DeOnofrio scored 15 points, including 10 in the first half as Boardman built a 37-30 halftime lead.
Momentum: The Rough Riders had cut the lead to 34-30, but Stefanovic completed a three-point play with one second left to give Boardman some momentum heading into the locker room.
"I think we played extremely well," Stefanovic said. "We kind of shot ourselves out the game [against Chaney] and once we got a lead tonight, we made some better decisions."
Boardman's press took over in the second half, holding Kent to just 16 points over the final 16 minutes.
The Rough Riders scored 17 points in the second quarter.
"We had a game under our belt and I think we got rid of some of the jitters," Gorski said. "We also shot the ball well, which helps. It was a nice game for us."
On target: Boardman shot 27-for-50 (54 percent), and was 9 of 12 from the free throw line.
Mike Finamore scored 11 points and Matt Marks scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds. Boardman out-rebounded Kent 32-29.
Kent senior guard Colin Gentry scored 19 points -- the only Rough Rider in double figures -- and sank three 3-pointers.
Trailing 4-2 in the opening minutes, Boardman ripped off a 15-2 run keyed by five points from DeOnofrio and four from Marks. But Kent closed the quarter with a 7-2 run to cut Boardman's lead to 19-13.
DeOnofrio -- who had six rebounds -- then scored four quick points in the second quarter as the Spartans opened a 27-16 lead before Kent battled back to 34-30.
But Kent fell flat in the third quarter, hitting just four of 10 shots, and Boardman cruised from that point. The Rough Riders never got within 19 points in the final period.
"This is obviously a step in the right direction," Gorski said. "We still need to learn how to take care of a lead but we had several guys come off the bench and give a great effort."
scalzo@vindy.com