Defense the difference for Niles

By Greg Gulas

Vindicator Correspondent

BOARDMAN — Niles lost its final three games of the regular season and seven of its last 10 to stall its chances at a winning season.

After defeating Field, 83-71, on Monday in opening round of the Division II sectional basketball tournament at Boardman High, the Red Dragons find themselves just a win away from the .500 mark.

Ryan Frantz had a game-high 27 points and Niles (10-11) fashioned a 36-8 run in the middle two quarters to take command of the game.

It was the defense, however, that Niles coach Rick Kover couldn’t talk enough about at the end of the game.

“We’re capable of playing like this each and every time out. We absolutely love playing in the Boardman High gymnasium, which is why we schedule the Spartans at their place,” he said.

“We asked our team to play better defense and that is exactly what they did tonight. I thought a key defensively was the play of Reggie Wells off the bench.

“He harassed their guards, made a couple of key steals and the rest of the team just fed off of his energy,” Kover said.

The Falcons scored the first eight points of the game, courtesy of a 3-pointer by Cory Richmond and a bucket and free throw by Jimmy Cercek.

Three 3s by Frantz, including back-to-back long shots that knotted the score at 13-all helped the Red Dragons get in sync offensively as they cut the Field margin to 21-19 at the quarter.

Frantz, the school’s season and career leader in 3-pointers, had seven in the game but said he would rather make a crisp pass for an assist.

“I just like making a nice pass that leads directly to a bucket,” he said. “I knew that I had to step it up tonight and the rest of the team felt the same way if we expected to win and advance to the next game.

“We have a real sense of pride at tournament time. We really have a great group of fans that are always there for us every game.”

A basket by Cercek at 5:47 of the second period increased the Falcons’ lead to 31-21, but that was the last time the momentum favored Field.

Wells’ three-point play just 27 seconds later cut the Field lead to 31-24, while five points by Frantz, another bucket by Wells, four points by Cory Floyd and a bucket each by David Allen and Shaq Cunningham keyed a 20-4 run by the Red Dragons as they forged a 41-35 halftime advantage.

“Our regular season schedule is a challenging one to say the least. We have seven Division I opponents and play no team lower than Division III,” said Kover.

“That schedule has prepared us for this moment and when it is one and done, you tend to play with a little more passion and we did exactly that tonight.”

Frantz and Saul Vaughn combined for 14 points in the third quarter as the Red Dragons opened a 63-45 advantage while Floyd’s seven markers in the final frame sealed the victory for Niles, despite being outscored 26-20.

“It seemed as though they got life in the second quarter and we just didn’t match their intensity,” said Field coach Jon Lane.