Rootstown races past Springfield

The Rovers sped to an early lead in winning the Division III district crown.
SALEM -- The first warning signs came on Thursday afternoon, when Springfield High boys basketball coach Grant Spaite noticed something awry with his team.
"We were a little sluggish," Spaite said. "You could tell we had tired legs."
At the same time, 50 miles away, Rootstown coach Mike Fuline noticed something encouraging about his team.
"We looked good," Fuline said. "I thought, 'We are very ready to go.' "
Springfield entered Friday's game having gone through a rugged three- week stretch, playing rivals Salem, South Range and Poland in the regular season, then faced St. Thomas Aquinas and Ursuline in the tournament.
It taxed the legs -- and the emotions. And the last thing the Tigers needed was another fast, athletic opponent.
Unfortunately, that's what they got.
"A team can watch us in person or on film, but it's a different speed when you play us," said Fuline. "It's tough to prepare for."
'Red hot' start
Guess so. Rootstown's speed overwhelmed Springfield, as the Rovers jumped out to a 14-2 lead and cruised to a 58-34 victory in a Division III district final at Salem High School.
"They just came out red hot," said Spaite. "My guys were a little timid. They were probably more shell-shocked than anything."
Rootstown forward Cory Buso scored seven of his game-high 26 points in the opening run. Springfield scored four straight points to cut the deficit to 14-6, but Rootstown answered with a basket just before the end of the quarter and the Tigers never again got within single digits.
"What separates this team from a lot of teams is that we don't just play with emotion for the first five minutes," said Fuline. "We play hard the whole game."
Buso also had five rebounds for Rootstown (20-3), which advanced to play Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph Thursday. The Rovers shot 56 percent from the field (23-of-41), held the rebounding edge (22-20) and forced 13 turnovers.
"I have so much respect for what Springfield did to get to this point," said Fuline, the nephew of former Struthers coach Joe Fuline. "They had a great tournament. I think they just ran out of gas."
Maybe, but Spaite refused to blame the loss on fatigue.
"[Rootstown] just played a heck of a game," Spaite said.
Offense struggled
Aaron Wood, Luke Summers and Zach DeJane each scored seven points for the Tigers (15-8), who shot just 12-of-37 from the field (32 percent). Dane Dobson added a game-high six rebounds and four assists and DeJane had five rebounds.
"It's tough, but no one gave us a chance to get this far," said Spaite. "I'm so proud of this team and what they accomplished."
Rootstown's success was just as unexpected. The Rovers entered the game with just one district title in school history (1993).
And Fuline wasn't going to let this opportunity slip away.
"We knew we had a chance to make history," he said. "That was a motivating factor for us."