Boardman comes up short in overtime

By Jon Moffett

CANTON — More than 100 combined points and four quarters of basketball weren’t enough for Boardman and Massillon Jackson.

The schools played an epic game Friday at the Canton Civic Center as part of the Division I boys basketball tournament before Jackson was able walk away with a 68-62 overtime victory.

The Spartans (11-11) were looking to exact revenge on the Polar Bears (17-4) who had beaten them earlier in the year. January’s 43-37 loss at home left a bad taste in Boardman coach Jim Goske’s mouth. But Mike Fuline’s Polar Bears proved to be too much for the Spartans to handle again.

“I told our kids they have absolutely nothing to hang their heads about,” Goske said. “I was proud of their effort and how hard they played. We knew coming in that we could compete with them. We actually felt that we could beat them. Our kids played extremely hard.”

The biggest problem for Boardman was free-throw shooting. The Spartans were 15-for-27 at the foul line, which Goske said wasn’t good enough.

“We didn’t knock down our free throws and they did,” Goske said. “They have a very good basketball team.”

Jackson set the tone early. After about a minute and a half had expired in the first quarter, junior Josh Egner slammed down a thunderous dunk. The 6-foot-6 forward was called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim. Egner proved to be a force inside and was tough for the Spartans to stop. He had six of the Polar Bears’ first eight points and finished with 20 on the night. He also had seven rebounds, four blocks and two steals.

Goske said playing against Egner was a true test.

“We had the guy with the longest arms on our team with his hand up in [Egner’s] face and he hit a big shot at a big time, which is what great players and great teams do,” Goske said.

Boardman led 41-39 after three quarters and Jackson kept it close in the fourth period, trailing 46-45 with four minutes remaining.

Engner made a layup to the Polar Bears ahead with 3 1/2 minutes to go, then his 3-pointer tied the score at 54 with three seconds remaining in regulation.

Jackson outscored the Spartans 14-8 in the extra session.

Tempers were running high for Jackson early in the contest. The Polar Bears were hit with a second technical when senior Eric Pace was called for arguing a foul.

Boardman’s Jordan Karzmer, a senior, made the free throws, bringing the Spartans within one. Good ball movement and stout defense gave the Spartans a 25-24 lead going into halftime.

Boardman was led by four shooters in double-digits. Karzmer, and seniors Devron Martin and Ryan Pesta each had 11 points. Behind them was senior Eric Soller with 10.

jmoffett@vindy.com