Hammond, Moore lead Spartans’ win

By Greg Gulas

BOARDMAN — Chase Hammond and J.T. Moore each had a double-double while the Boardman High boys basketball team held a decisive 47-28 rebound advantage Tuesday in a 79-66 victory over Howland.

Hammond blistered the nets for 22 points and 10 caroms while Moore added 13 markers and a game-high 18 rebounds as Boardman moved to 2-1.

Howland, also 2-1, was led by J.T. Lanier’s game-high 28 points and team-high six rebounds.

“We’ve had to guard some of the best offensive players in the Federal League and didn’t have an answer for [J.T.] Lanier tonight,” Boardman coach Jim Goske said. “We just couldn’t contain him offensively.

“We came out and played hard and the end result was the best 32 minutes of basketball for us this season,” Goske said.

“If we expect to be successful, then we need to avoid those two or three minute lapses that can cost you the game,” Goske said. “That is exactly what we did tonight.

“Assistant coach Dave Spires challenged the entire team prior to the game to hit the boards and it looked like both J.T. [Moore] and Chase [Hammond] took his message to heart,” Goske said. “With 18 and 10 rebounds respectively and a double-double also for each player, you can see why everyone played a role in tonight’s win.”

The Spartans raced to the early 13-5 advantage on the strength of Dave DiBernardi’s two “treys” and seven total points, never trailing in the game as they settled for an 18-14 lead after the first quarter of play.

Moore, who nailed five of his points in the second period, offset Lanier’s 12 first half points as the Spartans increased their advantage to 32-27 at halftime.

“Our intensity, focus and energy were keys for us tonight,” Moore said. “That is what probably cost us the last time out against Massillon Perry.

“We had a chance to re-focus, had two excellent practices on Saturday and Monday and that enabled us to get mentally prepared for Howland tonight,” Moore said.

The Spartans built an 11-point cushion after halftime and settled for a 52-43 advantage heading to the final period.

They then relied on Hammond who scored 13 points, adding two monster slam dunks in the final stanza to secure the victory.

“We played much better tonight, rotating fresh players throughout the game which enabled us to press more and maintain our energy level,” Hammond said. “I had way too many turnovers in the first half so I challenged myself to kick it up a notch and play a turnover-free final period.

“It was a total team effort tonight and it feels absolutely great to get back on the winning track,” Hammond said.

The Spartans canned 29 of 47 aerial attempts but struggled at the free throw line, where they were just 19 of 34 overall.

he Tigers were 22 of 39 from the field, hitting on 20 of 29 charity tosses.

Boardman forced 22 turnovers but committed 23 when with possession of the ball; 13 of those coming prior to intermission.

“They had the size advantage and the result was a lot of put back points,” Howland coch Dan Campana said. “I cannot fault our effort because we played hard the entire game. We didn’t match up very well against them tonight.”

Boardman had 11 steals and 16 assists while the Tigers registered eight steals and 13 assists in the contest.