Devron Martin leads Boardman over East
BOARDMAN — The Boardman High boys basketball team is playing its best basketball at the right time of the year.
Boardman (9-10) dismantled East 81-50 on “Senior Night” as senior Devron Martin scored a game-high 25 points.
Senior Ryan Pesta set the career 3-point scoring record for the Spartans when he swished his 115th shot from beyond the arc.
“We had a lot of guys involved tonight,” Boardman coach Jim Goske said. “That is what you have to do to be winning at this time of the year.
“We have a lot of guys scoring and contributing and I was really happy with the way we played,” Goske said.
The Spartans close out the season against Uniontown Lake in the Federal League tournament and then Boardman will open the Division I sectional tournament with the Lake.
On Jan. 30, Boardman defeated Lake, 63-56.
It’s no coincidence that the Spartans are playing a lot better basketball with the return of Martin who has returned to the team the last five games after being ineligible.
The 6-foot-7 forward was a first-team All-Federal League selection last year and he is just beginning to round into form.
Martin scored 10 of his points in the first quarter as the Spartans jumped out on East early and effectively.
“We came out and got after [East] defensively,” Goske said. “We got after them and forced them to take some quick shots and so I was happy with our defensive effort.”
East (10-6) came into the game on a seven-game winning streak and still has hopes of capturing a Steel Valley Conference championship if they can win their final two league games against Ursuline and Warren Harding.
The Panthers shot horribly (23-72) from the field and never got its offensive game in gear.
“We stunk,” East coach Mark Cherol said. “They came out hard on us and we shot terribly and they kept seperating from us.
“We have to forget about this game and try to regain our focus for the rest of the season,” Cherol said.
One thing the Panthers won’t forget is how well Boardman shot the basketball against its defense.
The Spartans connected on 67 percent of its field goals (34-49) and at the end of the third quarter, Boardman had made 75 percent of its shots.
Pesta didn’t knock down his record three-pointer until late in the game, but he was more impressed with how well the entire team shot the basketball.
“We were extra pumped up for senior night,” Pesta said. “We were able to get out well in transition and get some layups and a lot of easy shots.
“It feels good to get the record. I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates. They get me the ball and I just shoot it.”
Boardman also rebounded the basketball well as three Spartans, Martin, J.T. Moore and Eric Soller each corralled more than 10 caroms. Boardman outrebounded East 53-21.
East was led by Kenny Carter who tallied 15 points while Anthony Bowers added 11 points and seven rebounds. Mark Thornton scored 11 points for the Panthers.