YOUNGSTOWN Ursuline gives Gunther first win as head coach

Branndon Braxton and Brett Neely spearheaded a late uprising past Rayen.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Branndon Braxton, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound senior for the Ursuline High basketball team, not only is a big guy literally, but he also is a big guy figuratively when it comes to leadership, affecting his team and influencing the outcome of a game.
And when Braxton has Brett Neely, a 6-3 senior teammate, chipping in with hustling reinforcement all over the floor, and Earl Barron, a 5-7 senior point guard, cleverly running the offensive show, the Irish become just that much better.
Braxton, a dominating force underneath with his size and athletic ability, scored 11 of his game-high 22 points in the final quarter, and Neely contributed eight of his 13 points over the same span, as the pair rallied Ursuline past Rayen, 52-35, Friday night at the Irish gym.
The win was rookie coach Keith Gunther's first at the Ursuline (1-2) helm.
Braxton, Neely strike
Rayen (1-3) held a 30-28 lead entering the fourth period, but Braxton and Neely spearheaded a 24-5 scoring spurt in the finale to turn the game into a runaway.
And with Rayen trailing by just 36-32 with about four minutes left and still in contention, Neely had eight of his points and Braxton seven the rest of the way to key a 16-3 run to finish off the Tigers.
"Braxton is a big kid and he takes up a lot of space," said Gunther. "He cleared the glass. He played aggressive in the second half."
Gunther said the Irish focused on getting the ball inside to Braxton, who scored 18 points in the second half, including seven in the third quarter.
"We passed the ball into Braxton. He got some key buckets down the stretch," said Gunther. "He's one of the best athletes at Ursuline. He is very athletic for a guy his size.
Braxton helped Neely
"Once we got the ball into Braxton, that opened it up for Neely," Gunther added. "[Neely] gave us a great fourth quarter."
Neely had a lot of his shots blocked in the first half, but then he managed to hustle his way to create offensive openings and to make things happen in the second half.
"Neely is the most intelligent and hard-working kid on the team," said Gunther.
Although Barron didn't score, Gunther said he contributed with leadership and ball control.
"He ran the team [in an] outstanding [way]," said Gunther.
Graham, Elliot key Rayen
Rayen was led by Jabray Graham with 12 points and Deon Elliot with 10, and they both helped to neutralize Braxton in the third quarter when the Irish broke from a 19-19 halftime tie to a 27-25 lead on Neely's two foul shots.
Elliot hit a goal and Graham a goal and foul shot to give Rayen a 30-28 lead entering the final frame, before Braxton and Neely combined to fuel the Irish uprising.
Gunther said Braxton is being highly-recruited for football.
"A lot of Division I schools from all over the country are looking at him," said Gunther.
kovach@vindy.com