Boardman falls in Federal League bout

January 8, 2011 at 12:07a.m.

BOARDMAN

The Golden Eagles of Canton GlenOak have a brand new head coach, but their roster reads more like a youthful “Who’s Who” instead of the experienced veterans usually expected to carry the load.

Having won just one of their first six games, the team was also winless in three league outings and desperately searching for an identity with the midway point of the season fast approaching.

They might just have found it Friday.

Turon Parker scored 25 points and Branden Means added 16 as the Golden Eagles defeated Boardman High, 69-54 in Federal League action at the Boardman Gymnasium.

“Our goal was to jump on them early and keep the pressure on throughout the game,” Parker said. “We barely talked to each other before the game as we tried to get focused.

“At first they applied the pressure and took the early lead but after we called a time out and settled down, we regained that focus and didn’t lose it the rest of the way,” he added. “It’s tough to win on the road, especially in the Federal League. So for us, this is a really big win as we look to stay on the winning track.”

G.M. Passas scored four of the game’s first six points to stake the Spartans to the early 6-0 advantage With Dayne Hammond adding four of his team-high 17 points in the period, Boardman then built a 10-4 margin at the 2:52 mark of the quarter.

Tommy Monnot’s five points then keyed a 9-0 run by the Golden Eagles as GlenOak raced to a 13-10 lead after the first eight minutes.

Seven points by Means and six by Parker in the second quarter increased the run to 22-3 as the Golden Eagles were able to forge a 30-24 lead at intermission.

“This is a new system that we are running and for many of our players it’s the first time that they are all playing together as a unit,” said GlenOak coach Scott Giammarco. “We’re still learning about each other and tonight we took a big step forward in that learning process.

“While our pressure set the tone of the game, the key was that we didn’t beat ourselves like we did at the outset of the season,” he added. “Getting the early lead gave us confidence, but credit Boardman because they had to play catch up and didn’t quit. Teams in Stark County know how tough it is to win when they come to Boardman. They call it the [Boardman Hangover] so to get out of here with a win is a really good feeling.”

Justin Harrington and Parker combined for 11 points in the third period and the Golden Eagles outscored the Spartans, 20-9 as they increased their lead to 50-33 heading to the final period. Hammond’s nine points in the final frame sparked Boardman (5-4, 0-3) as they outscored GlenOak (2-5, 1-3), 21-19 but it was too little, too late as they saw their modest three-game win streak come to an abrupt halt.

“Our game plan was to keep our poise, handle their pressure and make good decisions with the ball,” said Boardman’s Dan McKeown. “It’s frustrating because we showed a lack of poise tonight and made bad decisions in the open court. We knew that [Turon] Parker and [Branden] Means were good players and as a team they look to create chaos. We have to learn from this because it doesn’t get any easier for us. We need to grow up and quick.”