BOYS BASKETBALL Hoover stays unbeaten in romp past Canfield

The Vikings dealt the Cardinals their second loss.
By RYAN JONES
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CANFIELD -- The North Canton Hoover High boys basketball team kept its perfect season intact Tuesday as the Vikings rolled over Canfield 74-46 in non-conference play.
A quick start coupled with a big second-quarter run allowed the Vikings (6-0) to distance themselves from the Cardinals before the half.
"Discipline is a good divider, and it was the divider tonight," Canfield (5-2) coach John Cullen said. "We weren't nearly as disciplined as they were.
"They don't give you much breathing room to make runs at them because they don't have spurts of bad play," Cullen said. "They never let up and allow you to get back in the game."
Early command
North Canton came out ready to play, jumping out to an 11-2 lead on the strength of four lay-ups.
Ryan Gibson, who had seven first-quarter points, ended the period with a 3-point play that stretched the Vikings' lead to 21-11.
"We were fortunate to get off to a good start," Hoover coach Randy Montgomery said. "I knew coming in here, going up against their five-game win streak, that it would be a pretty good match-up.
"I thought the kids played good defense early that caused some turnovers. We also limited their second shots, which gave us the early lead," Montgomery said.
The second frame felt like d & eacute;j & agrave; vu as once again the Vikings mounted a run, this time a 13-1 march that left the Cards down 34-12 three minutes into the period.
Gibson added another 3-point play to fuel the run, while point guard Bret Wackerly scored eight points in the quarter on the strength of two 3-point goals.
The difference
Montgomery felt it was the difference-maker in the game.
"That run really stretched the lead out to over 20 points, making it tough to come back from," Montgomery said. "It forced them to change their game plan."
The Vikings took a 40-19 advantage into halftime and remained solid throughout the second half, as Canfield failed to chip into the lead.
Three of the five Hoover starters reached double digits. Wackerly took scoring honors with 22, Chris Saltis added 15, and Gibson chipped in with 14.
Overall, the starting five accounted for 66 of the team's 74 points.
Team play
"Teamwork is critical, & quot; Montgomery said. "This is a young team. We emphasize on hitting the open man, and work to spread the ball around."
Jordan Ferns led Canfield in scoring with 12, and Kyle Melewski added nine, all coming on 3-point goals. Andrew Havas made five assists.
Canfield will square off against Salem on Tuesday in Metro Athletic Conference action.
"One of two things will happen," Cullen said. "We will either have great growths from this game or we're going to be reeling a little bit. We want to make sure we are in the learning category, not the reeling one."