URSULINE Irish defeat Benedictine to spoil Patton's return

The Benedictine coach was a player and coach at Struthers.
By BOB ROTH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Struthers High playing and coaching legend Bob Patton returned to the Valley for basketball competition for the first time in nine years Saturday night at the Ursuline gym.
Patton, in his first season at Cleveland Benedictine, ran into the outside shooting of Marc Palermo and the inside play of Andre Edmonds, who led the Irish (3-0) to a 62-57 victory.
Palermo, a four-year starter for the Irish, had eight points in the first quarter and 14 at the half, making 4-of-5 3-point shots. His only two point goal, a driving layup, gave Ursuline an 11-9 lead at the 3:37 mark of the first quarter. Palermo finished with a team-high 17 points.
He also dished out 10 assists, giving him 27 for the season, and had two steals.
The 5-foot-11 senior point guard said, " We worked well as a team tonight and I am always looking for the open man and open shot and they were both there tonight."
Strong game: Then he praised Edmonds for having a good game inside. The 6-3 senior, battling in a land of Bengal giants, scored 13 points and grabbed 10 of his team's 33 rebounds.
Edmonds' field goal at the 5:48 mark of the second quarter gave the Irish a 20-18 lead. It was the fourth lead change of the contest and one Ursuline would not relinquish.
Then, in the final period, after a 10-0 Bengal run cut the Ursuline lead to four, two big baskets by Edmonds gave the Irish a seven-point cushion.
"I have a lot of respect for any Bob Patton-coached team so this was a big win for our program and we are headed in the right direction," said Ursuline coach Steve Leslie. "This season so far a different guy has been there for us every game and tonight with key contributions from everyone, Marc and Andre really stepped up as did Kevin Coleman."
Coleman also was in double figures with a pair of 3-pointers and 10 points.
Keeping it close: The Irish led 50-38 after the third quarter, but Benedictine cut the lead to four points three different times, the last time with 24 seconds remaining in the game.
The Bengals were led in scoring and rebounding by their 6-6 senior Mario Jordan with 17 points and 16 of his team's 36 rebounds. Two other seniors, Calvin Kelly and Tom Zulandt, had 15 and 10 points, and sophomore William Brody also scored 10.
Patton said: " Jordan and Kelly are the only guys to get a lot of play last season so we are a young and inexperienced team, but with every game we get better.
"I was very impressed with what Ursuline did tonight, which shows that Steve Leslie is doing a good job, but the difference in the game was that Palermo kid. He does a lot of things well and is the best point guard I have seen anywhere this season."