Randall's goal guides Ursuline past Canfield

Lance Randall played for the Cardinals last season.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Last year, Lance Randall was a junior member of head coach John Cullen's Canfield Cardinal basketball squad.
Tuesday night, as a senior member of head coach Keith Gunther's Ursuline Fighting Irish unit, he was the Cardinals' worst nightmare.
Randall's bucket as time expired lifted the Fighting Irish to a 37-35, come-from-behind victory over the Cardinals, spoiling the season opener of the team that he was an integral part of just a little over eight months ago.
"I think that Lance [Randall] was pushing too hard," Gunther said. "He really wanted to play well tonight against his old teammates.
"He wanted to be a big part of our effort tonight, so it was only fitting that he hit the game-winning shot after struggling offensively early in the game."
The Cardinals, who led from the midway point of the first quarter until a 4:16 drought in the final quarter changed the complexion of the game, held the Fighting Irish to just three buckets in the first half but were outscored 27-18 after intermission.
Defense delivers
"Their defensive pressure had a lot to do with the outcome tonight," Canfield head coach John Cullen said. "Our defense was designed to take away their transition game first and their inside game second. For the most part, we accomplished that goal.
"They are a talented team. When you hold them to just three total buckets in the first half, you better have more than a seven point lead at halftime if you expect to win the game."
Mike Rounsavall scored six of his game-high 16 points in the first period as the Cardinals raced to a 9-5 lead just eight minutes into the game.
He then added six more points in the second quarter as the Canfield defense held the Fighting Irish to just five points again. The Cardinals held a 17-10 advantage at intermission.
"[Mike] Rounsavall has been consistent for us at both ends of the court thus far," Cullen said. "He plays smart and gives it his all at both ends of the court."
Nick McCartney, whose four buckets came after intermission and were all from beyond the arc, had two 3-point buckets in the third period as Ursuline outscored the Cardinals, 14-10, cutting the Canfield lead to 27-24 with just one quarter of play remaining.
11-0 run
Rounsavall's hook in the lane at 5:25 of the fourth quarter gave the Cardinals a 31-24 advantage, but McCartney's two buckets from beyond the arc and the aforementioned scoring drought by the Cardinals keyed an 11-0 run to give Ursuline (2-1) a 35-31 lead with a little over a minute to play.
Sean Baker, who last Friday was still a member of the Cardinal football squad, then scored the next four points to knot the game at 35-all with just 22 ticks on the clock remaining.
That would then set the stage for Randall's game winning shot as time expired.
"We couldn't throw the ball in the ocean in the first half, and free throws have been our Achilles heel thus far this season," Gunther said. "Canfield is an excellent team and John Cullen is an excellent coach, so to only give up 35 points shows that our defense was also on its game tonight."