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Springboro boys dominate Fairborn

Morgan and company simply too strong for visiting Skyhawks.

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By Jeff Ermann, Contributing Writer 12:35 AM Saturday, January 14, 2012

SPRINGBORO — Playing against the Springboro boys basketball team this year is akin to trying to shove a sumo wrestler. Opposing players get a few good shots in here and there, but eventually the Panthers use their superior size and balance to regain dominant position.

That once again proved to be the case Friday night as Springboro used center Maverick Morgan’s low-post dominance, point guard Ryan Murray’s playmaking and its teamwide shooting acumen to notch an easy 83-63 win over visiting Fairborn.

Springboro missed 3-pointers on its first two possessions, but Morgan (game-high 23 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks), a 6-foot-10 junior, snatched the rebounds and laid the ball in. When Fairborn collapsed on Morgan, Jack Mapes (13 points) and junior Jake Pfahl (15 points) drained outside shots. And when the Skyhawks applied pressure, Murray (21 points) raced past them for layups.

Fairborn, undersized but scrappy, never quit. But like everyone on Springboro’s schedule thus far other than Franklin, the Skyhawks couldn’t counteract the Panthers’ impressive inside-outside balance. Springboro shot 62 percent, including 7-for-14 from the arc — and never trailed after the first five minutes.

“At no point in time can you let up against these guys,” said Fairborn coach Nathan Chivington, whose team was led by senior guard Kendrick Williams’ 19 points.

Springboro went 14-8 last year, tying Fairborn for the GWOC South title. But the Panthers have taken a step this year thanks largely to the junior tandem of Morgan and Murray, each of whom improved vastly during the offseason; Morgan’s footwork, post moves and physique are better, while Murray has emerged as a playmaker after averaging five points in a reserve role last season.

“He’s a different player,” Murray said of Morgan.

Morgan added, “If we didn’t have the guards, I would be getting double-teamed all the time.”

Springboro (10-1, 5-0 GWOC South) hasn’t been challenged often this season, entering the game with an average margin of victory of more than 20 points. But the Panthers face a stiffer challenge Sunday at the Flyin’ to the Hoop tournament against HYCA of Texas; their original opponent, Morgan Park (Ill.), canceled its trip to Dayton.

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