Mooney remains perfect

Curtis Ingram scored 24 of his 27 points in the second half as Mooney stayed unbeaten.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
HOWLAND -- If Curtis Ingram and Ron Stoops continue their aggressive offensive play, Cardinal Mooney will be a basketball team to be reckoned with this season.
Ingram, a 6-3 senior, poured in 27 points -- 24 in the second half -- and Stoops, a 6-3 junior, added 19 points as the Cardinals routed Howland, 76-42, Tuesday night at the Tigers' gym.
Jeff Hehr, a 6-0 junior, added 10 points for Mooney (3-0) while David Zidian, a 6-4 junior, had nine points and 13 rebounds.
"We feel we have a team that can push the ball, but also one that that can be able to run the offense," said Mooney coach Nick Bellino, whose team shot 35-for-58 (60 percent) from the field.
"Every player is a decent shooter and good attacker to the basket. We have multi-dimensional shooters and drivers, and that make us much more difficult to guard."
Tough to stop
Coach Bernard Bolha of Howland admitted Mooney's potent offense cut through the Tigers' defense.
"They attacked the basket," Bolha said. "[Our] defense really hurt us tonight. We had a game plan but they ran their offense well. Mooney is a tough team and well-rounded and shot well."
The Tigers shot just 17 of 52 from the field.
"Our team has been settling for shots from the outside before looking inside," Bolha said. "We didn't take the good shots. We pushed the ball."
David Kennedy and Scott Day managed eight points each for Howland while Jordan Bartholomew had seven.
Stoops, getting most of his points near the hoop on lay-ups, carried Mooney offensively in the opening half, scoring 15 points.
"In the first half, [Ingram] was on the perimeter a lot and missing shots," said Bellino. "We told him to go inside in the second half. [Then] he got easier shots. He's that much more difficult to stop inside. He is a force on the inside."
Good combination
Bellino said Stoops has a nose for being around the ball and the hoop at the right time.
"Stoops is one of the better [players] who anticipates that someone is going to shoot, and he's going to hit the boards and get a lot of second-chance shots either off a rebound or by going to the basket," Bellino said.
Howland had no answer for Ingram in the second half.
"Ingram just takes over the game," Bolha said. "He was too strong for us. He shot the ball real well from the outside, and opened up his inside game, which is his strength."
"We knew [Stoops] was always going to be going to the hoop," Bolha said. "Zidian did a nice job inside."