Irish stay unbeaten
Marc Palermo's 13-point run led Ursuline past Chaney, 62-43.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Whenever Marc Palermo looks back on Ursuline High's 62-43 boys basketball victory over Chaney Tuesday night at the Irish gym, he is sure to remember his scoring streak that broke open a close game.
Palermo poured in 13 straight points spanning the first and second halves, including three successive 3-point goals on feeds from Jimmy Riley, to pull Ursuline from a 29-28 deficit to a 41-34 lead.
The Irish proceeded to outscore Chaney by 14-4 for a 55-37 advantage into the fourth period, and went on to stretch their undefeated streak to five games.
Scoring punch: Palermo, a 5-11 senior guard, finished with 18 points, including four 3-point goals, while Isaiah Poindexter contributed 17 points as the pair provided a 1-2 punch that fueled the attack.
Kevin Coleman drilled three 3-point goals for nine points as Ursuline finished with nine long-range shots in 25 attempts.
"That's a big streak in a game," said Irish coach Steve Leslie of Palermo's run. "Marc is a good shooter. Jimmy Riley got him the ball three times on his [back-to-back] 3s."
Chaney coach Jim Stickel, whose Cowboys lost their third straight game after opening with three wins, said his defense didn't put enough pressure on Ursuline's outside shooters, particularly Palermo.
"We just gave them too much room [to shoot]," Stickel said. "They are a very good shooting team [from the] perimeter."
Austin keys surge: Roy Austin scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Chaney, and he also sparked the Cowboys' early domination.
Austin scored 10 unanswered points spanning the first and second quarters to give Chaney a 21-12 advantage.
But Ursuline bounced back behind Coleman, Poindexter and Andre Edmonds, who combined for 14 points to pull the Irish to within 29-28 and set the stage for Palermo's scoring streak.
"We were a little sluggish in the first half. We weren't shooting very well. Defense kept us in there," Leslie said. But in the second half, "We were a little more open [offensively]."
And on defense, "We did a good job of shutting them down.
"The top eight guys came in and we got good minutes [from them]," added Leslie, who especially was pleased with Poindexter's ability to provide an "instant" spark to the team whenever he came in.
Cowboys contained: Chaney, meanwhile, managed to score only 14 points in the second half.
"It was two different halves of basketball," Stickel said. "The first half we executed. The second half, they came out and got hot and ran the floor and controlled the boards on us."
Edmonds had 11 rebounds to lead Ursuline, but Chaney still owned a 34-32 advantage in rebounds.
Keilen Dykes led the Cowboys with 12 boards and also added seven points. Eddie McElroy chipped in with eight points.
kovach@vindy.com