The Garfield G-Men were plagued with offensive inconsistency in their season debut against Portage County rival Rootstown, losing 83-55 to the Rovers last Saturday afternoon at the JAG Fieldhouse.
“Coming into the game, I thought we were in a good spot,” noted Coach Matt Hill. “On Saturday, we just were not ready to go. Hats off to Rootstown, they played well. They were the aggressor, and they took it to us and were more prepared than we were, but I said to our guys in the locker room to keep their heads up because it is a long season.”
Since leaving the Portage Trail Conference, the G-Men and Rootstown have continued to face each other in non-conference duels over the last four years, with Garfield having won twice in the last three seasons but now the Rovers have evened the score with their second victory in the non-conference rivalry.
Garfield (0-1, 0-0) was plagued with several offensive question marks as it marked the first game for a team that returned only three players with significant varsity experience.
In the first quarter, the G-Men experienced a slow start by falling behind 7-1.
Despite trimming the Rovers’ early advantage to five points, Rootstown was lethal from beyond the arc, knocking down four 3-point baskets to take a 20-10 lead.
According to the first-year coach, the G-Men could not match Rootstown’s energy from the opening tip, digging themselves a deep hole they had to climb out of in the second quarter.
The Rovers threatened to pull away in the second period by going on a 10-7 run, taking a 30-17 lead but then became overly reliant on outside shooting, missing all five of its 3-point attempts.
The missed shots allowed the G-Men to push the pace on the fast break and they sheared the lead to only seven points with a 10-4 run, aided by sophomore guard Parker Gill, who contributed seven points in the second period.
Senior guard Brandyn Bogucki lauded his team’s resiliency in the second quarter to cut the deficit to single digits despite a lackluster start.
“We just wanted to compete the whole game no matter the score,” added the 5-foot-9 guard who scored 19 points and grabbed five rebounds. “Parker had a few big buckets for us. He was not a big varsity guy for us, but he had seven points.”
The Rovers responded with an 11-5 run to take a 13-point lead into the half.
In the third period, the Rovers seized control by going on an 11-4 run to increase their lead to 56-36, keyed by senior guard Ethan White, junior guard Blake Mullaly and junior guard Caleb Filmore.
Bogucki acknowledged that the Rovers trumped Garfield by using their own game against them, pushing the pace and catching the G-Men out of position on the fast break.
In addition to not responding to the Rovers’ offensive outburst, the G-Men were hindered by possessions with very little off-ball movement and passing.
“They continued to be the aggressor offensively and they just took it to us,” Hill said. “I think once we dug ourselves that hole that early in the second half, we started pressing a little bit. We didn’t really settle into our offense and play offense the way we wanted.”
Hill said that the G-Men planned for their offensive identity to be based on movement but once the Rovers widened the gap, there was very little movement and too much dribbling, relying on driving to the basket as the primary source of offense.
The Rovers continued dictating the pace, fueled by a 13-7 run, to take a commanding 68-43 lead into the fourth quarter. They maintained momentum to hand the G-Men a season-opening defeat.
Hill said that although the G-Men had a promising preseason and series of scrimmages, there were a lot of unknowns on offense leading up to the game as Bogucki was the only returning starter from last year.
“We are a younger and an inexperienced group,” he said. “It was a valuable experience and I hope we learn and get better from this. I think regardless of the scrimmages or whatnot, when you play a game, the lights are onand it is a different step for a lot of guys getting their first experience. You hope you learn from it, and I know this group is better than what they showed on Saturday.”
The G-Men will seek a bounce-back victory when they take on Portage County and Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference foe Waterloo in a crossover league duel in Garrettsville on Saturday afternoon at 12:30 p.m.
