Fitch falls to Boardman in Federal finale

By Cliff Hickman

Canton Repository

CANTON

Boardman scored the first 10 points of the game and never trailed, defeating Austintown Fitch 54-43 in the seventh-place game of the Federal League Tournament Saturday at the Canton Memorial Civic Center.

A smothering defense set the tone for Boardman during the early run.

“We came out with a lot of energy,” Boardman head coach Dan McKeown said. “We forced them into some tough shots. I think we mixed things up a little since the first time we played them.

“The first time we played them we let them come across half court before we turned up the pressure,” he added. “But today we came out and pressured them from end-line to end-line early, and I don’t think they were quite expecting that. So I think that little difference allowed us to get out to that lead.”

Fitch struggled with Boardman’s adjustments early. Head coach Jason Baker said it was a multitude of things.

“There were stretches where we just didn’t execute or do what we were supposed to do or go where we were supposed to go and it cost us,” he said. “You have to have all 13 guys committed to what we’re doing and ready to play and there were a couple that weren’t today.”

Fitch fought back from the early deficit and kept the Boardman lead to single digits for much of the game. The Falcons made a push late in the fourth quarter and cut the Spartan lead to six but it was as close as they could get.

“We’ve fought hard all year,” Baker said. “We have really good kids that aren’t going to quit and they certainly didn’t today. We cut it to six and we just needed a bounce here or there and it didn’t happen.”

Jonas Ballard finished as Fitch’s leading scorer with 18 points.

Offensively for Boardman, Dave DiBernardi scored 13 of his team-high 14 points in the first half.

The game also marked the end of an era as it was Fitch’s last as a member of the Federal League.

“It was an honor to play against some of these schools,” Baker said. “It’s the best basketball conference in the state of Ohio if you ask me. I hope our guys realize how good it is to be a part of something like that. A part of us is glad that we are going to be playing a lot more local games but at the same time this is the best of the best.”

Fitch is now 3-15 and finished up 0-10 in the league.

Boardman improves to 11-9 and finished with a 3-7 league record.