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Spartan-like efforts

Boardman’s defense, depth proves too much for Lakeview

Special to the Tribune Chronicle | Dianna Oatridge Boardman's Derrick Anderson (3) and Lakeview's AJ McClellan (10) reach for a loose ball during their game in Cortland on Tuesday.

CORTLAND — Boardman’s approach to a basketball game seems a bit more suited for hockey.

If the Spartans made a substitution, five players came in, and five players came out — similar to a line change in hockey.

Their defense was as about intense as a hockey fight as well.

The Spartans used depth and defense to hand Lakeview its first loss of the season, holding off the Bulldogs, 58-53, on Tuesday at Lakeview High School.

“That’s really what we want our calling card to be,” said Boardman coach Pat Birch when asked about their depth and defense. “We really challenged our guys this week. I kept saying, ‘Empty your tank when you’re out there. Give it everything you have, and the next (group of) guys who come on the floor, that’s their goal too, until the next wave comes in.’

Special to the Tribune Chronicle | Dianna Oatridge Lakeview's Jeff Remmick (21) goes for a layup in front of Boardman's Ethan Anderson (25) during their game in Cortland on Tuesday.

“We have a good 11 guys that we trust to go out there and give us quality minutes, so hopefully that can be something we do all year.”

Their plan certainly worked well against the Bulldogs (3-1), who are coming off a Division II district championship last year.

Lakeview was hounded by a full-court press all game, and Boardman (3-2) appeared to be pulling away as it took a 12-point, third-quarter lead, but that’s when the Bulldogs’ defense made some plays of its own.

Lakeview, which trailed for most of the contest, forced three consecutive turnovers and ended the quarter on a 6-0 run to pull within 44-38. The Boardman lead never exceeded six points from then on.

“This is one group for sure that I can count on never to fold,” Lakeview coach Ryan Fitch said. “When we got down 10, that’s why I don’t worry too much because I know we’ll battle back. It’s just a matter of whether we get over the top or not.”

They had their chances.

Leading by six with just over two minutes left, Boardman missed the front end of three different 1-and-1 free-throw opportunities. The Spartans made up for their miscues at the line with smothering defense on the other end, not allowing a point during the three ensuing possessions for Lakeview.

“Boardman’s really deep,” Fitch said. “They’re laterally quick, and Pat did a good job of putting a little pressure on us. It wore us down a little bit at certain stretches. I thought we handled the pressure OK, but after a while, the pressure wears on you and wears on you. When they’re that deep, they can run different guys in and not get tired and keep putting pressure on us.”

Offense was the only real issue for the Spartans.

Boardman’s Derrick Anderson led all scorers with 17, but Che Trevena was the only other Spartan to reach double figures with 10. They did, however, have five other players score at least five points.

Anderson was the catalyst, and he finally put the Bulldogs away, sinking two free throws to give Boardman a 58-53 lead with 20.3 seconds remaining.

“We work on our free throws a lot, so we don’t feel pressure,” said Anderson, who had to deal with a hostile Lakeview student section as he attempted his free throws. “I just don’t pay attention to them. I do what we work on in practice, work on my form and make the shot.”

Fitch wasn’t overly discouraged by the loss.

He likes the potential of the Bulldogs, who brought back three key contributors from last year’s team. The trio stepped up Tuesday, with seniors AJ McClellan scoring 16, Jeff Remmick 15 and Daniel Evans 11 to lead Lakeview.

Fitch sees a lot of comparable traits between last year’s team and this one.

“The team is very similar in regards to what we’re going to ask them to do and what they’re doing,” Fitch said. “It’s just guys that didn’t play very much last year are still in game number four, and they’re trying to get experience, get their feet wet and trying to understand the speed of the game.”

They appeared to learn a lesson Tuesday.

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