Falcons, Spartan squads ousted

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Canton GlenOak defeated Fitch and Massillon eliminated Boardman.

By GREG GULAS

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

CANTON — The top-seeded Canton GlenOak High School basketball team stormed out of the gate, scoring the first 15 points of the game, coasted to a 44-14 halftime lead, then cruised to a 82-33 victory over Austintown Fitch in a Division I boys sectional tournament game Tuesday at the Canton Civic Center.

In the second game, Massillon, the fourth seed, topped Boardman 64-55.

GlenOak's Kosta Koufos, the highly-touted 7-foot-2 center headed for Ohio State, scored 13 of his game-high 27 points in the opening period as the Eagles surged to a 21-6 lead.

The Eagles outscored the Falcons 23-8 in the second quarter as Mike Lancia scored 10 of his 13 points.

GlenOak opened the second half with a 28-2 run that built their margin to 72-16.

"There is a good reason why Kosta Koufos is headed for Ohio State," said Fitch coach Roger Day. "He's skilled and can pretty much do it all."

"GlenOak played well as a group and we had a hard time rebounding," said Day.

Koufous had 10 rebounds.

"We'll now look to the offseason, work hard, improve our skills and get better for next year," said Day.

The Falcons (2-19), on the strength of Adam Gleussner's team-high 10 points, helped Fitch outscore the Eagles 17-10 in the final quarter, but it was too little, too late.

The sharp-shooting Eagles (18-3) connected on 13-of-25 3-point baskets. GlenOak out rebounded the Falcons 30-16.

GlenOak will battle Massillon Jackson (10-10) Friday at 8:30 p.m.

Massillon 64, Boardman 55

CANTON — Brian Gamble scored 15 points, Michael Porrini added 14 and Justin Turner had 12 for the Tigers (16-5).

Porrini and Turner combined for the first nine points of the contest for a 9-2 lead.

Devron Martin, who had a game-high 16 points, paced the Spartans (7-14), as they found themselves on the short end of a 19-16 score as first period ended.

Four points each by Perrini and his brother Jared ignited a 15-12 run and the Tigers held a 34-28 lead at the intermission.

Boardman Coach Jared Cardillo said, "We don't quit, we are a stubborn team. There are runs in every game, that's part of basketball and you learn to deal with them.

"We relied on each other, considering that 80 percent of our scoring was done by freshmen and two sophomores this season," said Cardillo.

"The fact that we lose only three players and return eight lettermen makes our future look bright."

The Tigers held a 47-38 lead at the end of the third quarter, while Gamble had six of his 15 points to seal the win.

Massillon will face the winner of tonight's Howland-Warren Harding game Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, February 28, 2007