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Boardman routs Harding for seventh straight win
By Brian Dzenis
WARREN
If a team can shoot really well and force a lot of turnovers, it can win a lot of games.
Boardman did just that against Warren Harding, shooting 57 percent and getting 26 turnovers from the opposition in a 67-43 road victory Wednesday night. The Spartans (11-3, 6-0 All-American Conference Red) won their seventh straight game and avenged a season sweep at the hands of the Raiders last season.
“It’s very hard playing here at this place. I’ve never won in this gym in my four years playing here,” Boardman guard Che Trevena said. “It’s a big win, especially to win by as much as we did.
“That’s going in the right direction.”
Boardman coach Pat Birch couldn’t recall a time when his Spartans handled the Raiders so well.
“I have no clue the last time we came here and won,” Birch said. “We’ve had a couple chances over the years — we had a chance to steal one last year and couldn’t make the plays down the stretch.”
A sign that things were heading Boardman’s way was by holding Harding (7-8, 3-2 AAC Red) to six points in the second quarter to build a 31-21 halftime lead.
Harding’s Dom McGhee hit a 3-pointer to open the third quarter, but hopes for a comeback proved to be a mirage. Boardman responded with a 12-2 run and Harding had 10 turnovers to 13 points in the third quarter.
“Dom hit that 3 and I thought, ‘OK, we’re right back in it.’ Then I think there was a loose ball and we didn’t get it. They get the putback to bring it back up to nine,” Harding coach Gabe Bubon said. “Those 50-50 balls have been killing us all year. When we get them, good things happen.
“We can’t teach that. It’s a want. A lot of our young kids have a want, but they kind of pick and choose when to bring it out,” he added. “It’s frustrating from a coaching perspective.”
Trevena and fellow guard Derrick Anderson were the lone Spartans in double figures, with Anderson having a team-high 18 points and Trevena adding 14.
“We’re working on getting our chemistry better and it’s been getting better game by game,” Trevena said. “Derrick is young. He’s talented and he’s a junior, so he still has another year.”
Jabari Felton led Harding with 11 points and five rebounds and McGhee finished with 10. Harding made 19 of 50 shots in defeat.
“Our plan was lock down McGhee — he’s one of the best players in the area,” Trevena said. “Pressing has been kind of our secret sauce and it’s what we had to do.”
With the loss, Harding has dropped three of its last four games.
“You never know what you’re going to get. That’s in practice, in video and in games. That’s our biggest thing right now is finding a consistent want,” Bubon said. “You can’t want things on some days and not in other days and that’s what we’re struggling with right now.
“I think our talent is there, but you’ve got to do your job and we can’t get enough guys on the same page to do it.”