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Spartans keep Falcons winless
By Gary Housteau
BOARDMAN
In a game of big scoring runs by both Fitch and Boardman, the Spartans produced one final mini-run when it mattered most.
Boardman used a 7-4 run over the final 2:27 to break a tie and remain unbeaten at home with a 53-50 victory.
After Fitch sprinted out to 12-2 lead, Boardman closed the deficit to 13-8 at the end of the first quarter. Then the Spartans pulled off a 11-2 run in the run in the second quarter to take a 19-15 lead into the intermission. Boardman later went on an 8-0 run to close out the third quarter with a 37-28 lead.
And then with the Spartans leading 40-31 early in the fourth quarter, the Falcons went on an 11-0 run to take a 42-40 lead with 3:45 left in the contest.
“They started off hot, they’ve been a really good first quarter team in just about every game this year,” said Boardman head coach Pat Birch.
“They’ve been in games and have played really good teams really close, they just haven’t been able to get over the hump. So I knew coming into the night that this would be that type of game. Those kids played their butts off over there and we made just enough plays to pull one out.”
Holding Fitch to just two points in the second quarter was instrumental for Boardman in getting the win.
“The second quarter really set the tone, that was one of our better quarters of the year defensively, only giving up one basket,” Birch said.
“And we had a moment there in the third that really opened the game up but we weren’t able to separate. But they came right back at us and made some big shots and it turned into a four-quarter game.”
It was another tough loss for the Falcons who fell to 0-8 on the campaign.
“All of our losses, pretty much, have been tough,” said Fitch head coach Brian Beany. “But the kids are playing hard, their attitudes are good, they’re putting themselves in positions to win games and it’s just a matter of doing enough of the right things to win these tough games.”
Led by senior Travis Koontz with 12 points and seven rebounds, along with 11 points from sophomore Che Trevena and 10 from Mike Melewski, the Spartans improve to 6-1 on the season.
“We couldn’t ask for a really better start,” Birch said. “We’re 6-1 to start the year which is as good of a start as we’ve had in a long time around here. We’ve been in a lot of close game and we’ve been on the right side of those close games, but we still have a lot of improvement to make.”
Randy Smith led Fitch with 15 points while Zac Bruff and Dylan Beany chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Jakari Lumsden had nine boards for the Falcons.