BCMS 8th grade boys at 5-1

Fresh off the heels of a 50-32 victory over Massillon Washington Middle School, the Boardman Center Middle School eighth-grade boys, like their seventh-grade counterparts, will have had a challenging week as well with road games at Poland, Canfield and Massillon Washington.

Coach Dan Kibby’s squad is currently 5-1 after posting a 14-0 regular season mark a year ago; finishing 16-1 overall and runners-up to Howland for the All-American Conference title.

“The success of this team lies in the fact that they have all been together over the past several years.

They have been a part of travel teams before their seventh-grade year and are a cohesive unit; friends both on and off the court.

“That makes a big difference,” Kibby said.

“We have a nice mixture of guards and post players with very few flaws at either end of the court,” he added.

The third-year coach starts Sam Mathey (4.3 ppg./5.5 assists) at point guard and Mark Hadley (6.0 ppg), his best shooter and three-point threat at the other guard; Phil DiLanni and Ivan Adu-Poku at the forwards and Ryan McKeown in the middle.

The latter three players are each averaging 10-plus points per game with Adu-Poku and McKeown the top rebounders and DiLanni the inside/outside threat.

Off the bench, Kibby relies on guards Carmen Marinucci, Paul Benson, Tracey Hall, Jared Bergman and Arron Dill, forward/center Dominic Buonavolonta and Stephen Moore and post player Cameron Clark.