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Boardman takes down Louisville in sectional final
By eric fortune
BOARDMAN
Boardman coach Pat Birch and Louisville coach Tom Siegfried talked how this Division I sectional final and the previous matchup in January were eerily similar.
Sort of like that weird d j vu moment where everything just lines up.
As before, the Boardman Spartans got a 3 right before half to put them up and used it to take a 62-54 win over the Louisville Leopards.
Boardman (19-4) was led by Hoden Lipke’s 18 points with his shot at the half being what Birch felt was needed to get his squad going.
“The first matchup was kind of similar,” Birch said. “We were able to separate a little bit and then kept it close with some late shots. We didn’t feel too uncomfortable, but you knew you had to keep playing.”
The opening half was a back-and-forth affair where it felt like both teams were trying to feel each other out. There were only four leads changes in the first half, but the biggest lead came after a Chris Liberatore 3 to make 17-12 to start the second quarter.
Liberator finished with a game high 30 points. He was the only Louisville player in double figures.
The Spartans trailed the rest of the quarter and kept themselves within a possession until Lipke’s 3 made it 26-24 at the half.
“I think gaining the lead at the end of the second half was huge,” Birch said. “Lipke’s shot kind of calmed us down. I think we were a little tight in the first half. There were a lot of shots that we are capable of making. I think that made us a bit hesitant.”
The Leopards (14-9) took their last lead of the game after a Jared Mathie 3. Boardman started to build some separation with 6-of-10-shooting compared to just 4-of-13 shooting as the Spartans led 43-37 at the end of three.
“They played really well,” Siegfried said. “They were efficient. They took great shots. They didn’t really force too much. I think the key was the third quarter. We had a two point lead for what felt like seven possessions. We just couldn’t score and it kind of snowballed from there.”
Boardman started the fourth quarter on a 12-2 run to get them the separation, 54-39, they needed halfway through as the Leopards shooting woes continued.
“I think too, we were like 9-of-31 from 3,” Siegfried said. “You aren’t going to win many games doing that. Their goal tonight it looked like was take away penetration. We just didn’t shoot very well.
“Every possession felt like it was worth 10 points. When it came down to it, they made more plays. This time we dug ourselves too big of a hole.”
Boardman moves on to play Lake on Thursday as their resurgent season continues. “We knew coming in this year that we weren’t very far off,” Birch said. We had a lot of single-possession games that didn’t go our way.
We had a young team where we played sophomores and juniors. Only two seniors played last year. We knew the experience and we’ve been in the moment. The focus in the offseason was to win the close ones.”