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Boardman tops East to run winning streak to 10 games
Boardman tops East to run
winning streak to 10 games
By Dan Hiner
Youngstown
The East and Boardman boys basketball teams are in different stages of their development.
The more experienced Spartans beat the rebuilding Golden Bears 56-32 at East High School on Friday in the second meeting between the two teams this season. It was their 10th win in a row.
Boardman’s Derrick Anderson led all scorers with 15 points. The Spartans (14-3) also got 10 points each from Che Trevena and Daeone Martin.
“We all play together as a whole, so it’s not just one person doing everything,” Anderson said. “That’s how we play together ... with great chemistry and play unselfish.”
Spartans head coach Pat Birch said the plan was to attack the middle of the Golden Bears’ defense. Anderson found driving lanes and converted easy opportunities at the basket.
“[Birch] wanted us to move the ball, find the open spot in the middle because they were in zone,” Anderson said. “When I was with the ball, I could find the open man or score the ball at the rim.”
The Spartans jumped out to a 18-9 lead at the end of the first quarter and were never threatened. That was mostly due to foul trouble by the Golden Bears (11-6).
Boardman converted 14 of 25 free-throw attempts in the first half, leading to a 31-15 halftime lead.
East struggled to keep players on the court because of the fouls. But that wasn’t the end of the Golden Bears’ problems.
The Golden Bears shot 11 of 48 (22.9 percent) from the field and 2 of 18 from behind the 3-point line.
While the Spartans had Anderson, Trevena and Martin lead the team offensively, the Golden Bears were looking for someone to get hot. Mar’quel Anderson led East with eight points on 3-of-11 shooting.
The Golden Bears have just two players with basketball experience. The rest of the roster was pieced together to replace players who graduated and those who left for Chaney.
East head coach Kevin Cylar said his team isn’t good offensively. The biggest factor is the lack of experience.
Cylar, who took over the team this year, planned to use his players’ athleticism in transition early in the year. Now he wants to slow the offense down and work the ball in the post, but the players aren’t used to playing in a half-court offense.
“We got a lot of kids who are quick, they’re fast, they can jump,” Cylar said. “It’s only natural for them to believe they can take people. I’m trying to teach them a different way of playing basketball.”
The two teams might not see how the players develop.
This was East’s last season with an All-American Conference Red Tier schedule. The Golden Bears left the AAC this season, but kept their schedule the same until the join they a new conference with Cardinal Mooney, Ursuline and Chaney next year.
“It’s kind of unfortunate because we had some battles over the years,” Birch said. “With Chaney added, they go down a couple divisions. It changes the scheduling process a little bit.”