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12/7/05

High school boys basketball: ‘Flat’ GlenOak still gets a win
Wednesday, December 7, 2005 By Chris Beaven repository sports wRITER

Repository Scott Heckel BLOCK PARTY GlenOak High School junior Kosta Koufos prepares to swat away a shot by Jackson’s Zack Fedorka in Tuesday’s second quarter. The 7-foot-1 Koufos blocked five shots and scored 18 points in leading GlenOak to a 64-50 win.

JACKSON TWP. - When Jack Greynolds heard “overrated” chants shouted at his team Tuesday night, the GlenOak High School boys basketball coach thought one thing.

“They were right,” Greynolds said.

The Golden Eagles also proved good enough to win even when they were far from their best. They improved to 3-0 by winning, 64-50, at Jackson despite their coach thinking they came out emotionally flat.

“It’s a victory,” Greynolds said. “That’s about all you can say. ... Jackson definitely outplayed, outsmarted, outcoached, outhustled and out-everythinged us.”

Still, Greynolds said GlenOak, “did enough to get a win.”
What the Eagles did just enough of was exploit their two biggest advantages — 7-foot-1 Kosta Koufos inside and their quick assortment of guards outside.

Koufos, a junior, finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and five blocks.
“It seemed like whenever they needed it, Kosta did it for them,” Jackson head coach Mike Fuline said.

GlenOak guards Errick McCollum, Mark Quinn and Mark Moore each came up with three steals apiece. McCollum also scored 15 points. Quinn, Moore and Nate West combined for another 23 points. Eight points also came from Brian Powell off the bench.

“We did play hard,” Greynolds said.

The Polar Bears (1-1) led by as much as 24-18 midway through the second quarter. They did everything their first-year coach wanted, but make enough plays to pull off the upset.

“What we’re really concentrating on is our effort,” Fuline said. “We want to play hard and intense on both sides of the floor. I think we did that for 32 minutes, but we lost it mentally for about four minutes. And against a great team and a well-coached team, that’s the result.”

GlenOak took charge with a 10-0 run over the final 4 1/2 minutes of the first half. A 3-pointer by Moore started the run, and three other Eagles scored. They never trailed again.

The Eagles pushed their lead to 44-36 after three quarters, and to double-digits early in the fourth. Jackson got as close as 57-50 entering the final two minutes before GlenOak closed on a 7-0 run.

“Our guys wanted it,” Fuline said. “They played with a lot of desire. ... We’re going to keep getting better every day, and hopefully the scoreboard will take care of itself.”

Curtis Murphy led Jackson with 16 points. Mark Young added 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Bears play again Friday when Walsh Jesuit visits them. GlenOak is off until a trip to Indiana next week to play Mishawaka Penn, a well-regarded team in that state.

Greynolds does not want to see another flat performance.

“If we do that next Saturday we’re going to get drilled,” he said. “... We’ve got to get a lot better because we’ve got a long ways to go.” Reach Repository sports writer Chris Beaven at (330) 580-8345 or e-mail: chris.beaven@cantonrep.com