Sunday, December 11, 2005
Jaron Howell produced the game-deciding points at The Chevrolet Centre.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Cardinal Mooney and The Rayen School basketball teams made history Saturday afternoon.
They were the first high schools from Youngstown to play a basketball game in The Chevrolet Centre, in the second game on the schedule of the inaugural four-game Youngstown-Warren Holiday Basketball Classic.
And Mooney emerged as the first Youngstown school to win a game in the city's newest facility as the Cardinals held off the Tigers in a down-to-the wire struggle, 54-52, before about 1,500 fans.
And there were other notable firsts for the arena recorded by players that trivia buffs can have fun with:
Howell sparks Mooney
U Jaron Howell, a 6-foot-1 senior guard, scored the first game-deciding points with a goal at 1:00 and free throw with 7.1 seconds to go that enabled Mooney to overcome Rayen's 52-51 lead for the victory.
U Howell also scored the most points in the game with 21 -- including seven of Mooney's 12 points in the final period -- and also made the first 3-point goal.
U Desmond Marrow, a 6-3 senior guard for Mooney, scored the first point and the first foul shot, and finished with 11 points.
U Justin Queener, a 6-3 senior guard for Rayen, made the first 2-point goal, and wound up with 13 points and nine rebounds.
U Matt Gordon, a 6-4 senior guard-forward who led the Tigers with 15 points, including six in the final period, had the first three-point play.
L.J. Sutton, a 6-4 sophomore forward, added 14 points and six rebounds for Mooney (2-0).
Jamayle Roland, a 5-10 sophomore guard, contributed 11 points for Rayen (1-3), including five in the final period.
Coaches love arena
"It's a great facility. It is an honor to play here," said Steve Leslie, Mooney's first-year coach. "It was first class. Everything was first class. I'd love to see more games played here."
Rayen coach Jason McCray, also in his first season, felt the same way.
"The kids' eyes just lit up when they came into the arena. It is a pretty prestigious place," said McCray, who hopes that more games will be played here.
"This should be an annual thing. It reminds you of coming into a coliseum like being at a professional basketball game in Gund [now Quicken Loans] Arena," said McCray, who also had some criticism.
"There were a couple of dead spots on the court where the ball wouldn't bounce back up."
And at least two players slipped and fell on the court at one particular spot.
But McCray agreed that this is a learning experience for the arena, and is confident that any flaws that crop up will be corrected.
Turnovers factor in outcome
Leslie said that "turnovers were a factor both ways" in the outcome.
For example, with Mooney leading, 53-52, Howell couldn't maintain control of the ball and slipped to the floor, giving Rayen possession with 24.4 seconds remaining.
But Roland missed a layup with 8.4 seconds left and then Rice fouled Dan McCarthy of Mooney with 7.1 seconds left but he missed both shots.
However, Howell made a big steal near the buzzer and then was fouled and made one shot to clinch the win for the Cardinals.
"When they took the lead, we kept our composure," said Leslie of his team's play after Roland's free throw gave Rayen its 52-51 lead with 1:12 left.
McCray was happy to see his team bounce back from a 77-27 loss to North Canton Friday.
"Their effort was tremendous [against Mooney]. We are trying to bring back basketball to Rayen how it used to be," McCray said.
kovach@vindy.com