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WAKEUP CALL
Photo
East’s Jalen Hooper (4) shoots over Boardman’s Austin Downie (31) during the Panthers’ win at Alliance High. East advances to meet Warren Harding.
By Joe Scalzo
alliance
Following a 74-49 win over Boardman in Monday’s Division I sectional opener, East High boys basketball coach Dennis Simmons was asked to break down the game’s good points and bad spots.
He paused, then started chuckling.
“Uh ... the W,” he said. “That’s the good spot.
“At this time of the year, it’s as long as you win. Not pretty, but we won.”
After sleepwalking through the first couple minutes (prompting Simmons to shout “Hey, wake up!”), the Panthers ran off a 13-0 run that gave them an 18-5 lead with three minutes left in the first quarter.
They led by double digits the rest of the way, advancing to meet Warren Harding in Friday’s sectional final at Alliance High School.
“The obvious thing is we need to take care of the ball and our defensive intensity needs to be a little bit better,” said Simmons, whose team forced 21 turnovers but committed 16. “A little more attention to detail, but I think we’ll be ready.”
Deontay Scott scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds for East (17-6), while Taylor Johnson added 12 points and six assists.
Since being hired in May, Simmons has tried to focus his players on being ready for February, knowing it takes a special team to survive in the Division I tournament.
“We want to do things state-bound,” he said. “The teams we play up near Cleveland, and with our Division I schedule, I think we’ve done a pretty good job of preparing for what we’re going to see in this tournament.”
Boardman (3-20) isn’t at that level, but first-year coach Pat Birch thinks the Spartans started building a foundation they can expand on over the next few years.
“I firmly believe a lot of what we tried to establish this year didn’t show up in the boxscore,” Birch said. “It’s something that might be a year or two down the road that we’ll see [started] from this year.
“I told my seniors that I’m proud of them for keeping the ship steady so we could establish that.”
Senior Dylan Bosela scored 20 points for Boardman, which is looking to leave the Federal League (and its endless travel) for the All-American Conference.
“At times this year was bumpy but I firmly believe two or three years down the road, we’re going to look back on this season and say, ‘You know what? This is when basketball started to turn around in Board- man,’” Birch said.
Especially if a few of his players can grow five or six inches in the offseason.
“That’ll help, too,” Birch said, grinning. “But there are some teams that aren’t the biggest, but if you’re skilled and you can shoot it, there’s a style you can play.”