The Irish held off top-seeded Campbell Memorial for a 43-41 victory.

The Irish held off top-seeded Campbell Memorial for a 43-41 victory.
BY ERIC HAMILTON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
SALEM -- Two weeks ago after losses to Mooney and Campbell to end the regular season, Ursuline boys basketball coach Keith Gunther sat down with his staff and players to evaluate where things were headed going into tournament play.
"We looked at everything we were doing and decided to start doing some things differently," said Gunther. "We worked harder on defense, came in at 6:30 a.m. to shoot free throws and fixed the things that we weren't doing well. The kids said they'd do whatever it took to get better."
That renewed commitment has made all the difference in the postseason and is a huge reason why the Irish can now call themselves Division III Salem district champions.
Like the regular-season meeting between the two teams, which Campbell won, the encore came down to the final seconds. Only this time it was the Irish who made the right plays at the most critical points and escaped with a 43-41 victory and their first district title since 1997 Friday night at Salem High.
"Our kids really came together after those losses to Mooney and Campbell," said Gunther. "Their character was really tested and they were really upset about how we were playing and they put in the hours to get better. And my coaching staff worked long hours to put us in a position to win.
"This is something I will never forget and I'm so happy for the kids, the coaches and Ursuline. They gave me an opportunity to coach here and we made the most of it. It is very gratifying."
Canton regional next
The Irish (15-8) advance to the Canton regional tournament where they will face Cleveland Villa-Angela- St. Joseph in the semifinals Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the Canton Fieldhouse.
Ursuline's win was far from easy as the top-seeded Red Devils gave the Irish all they could handle.
Despite going over seven minutes, spanning the second and third quarters, without scoring, Campbell battled back from a nine-point deficit in the last 1 minute, 8 seconds to nearly steal a victory.
Ursuline led 41-32 after a pair of free throws from D'Aundray Brown. But a 3-pointer from Terrance Phillips, buckets by Jermainne Richardson and Ryan Burton got Campbell within 41-39 with 20 seconds left.
Red Devils stay close
Sandwiched between those big baskets were several Ursuline missed free throws that enabled the Red Devils to stay close.
But with the Irish nursing a 41-39 advantage, Brown hit the first of a two-shot opportunity to extend the advantage to 42-39 with 18 seconds left.
His second attempt fell short, but Jerome Jones secured the rebound and Brown was fouled again with 12 seconds to go.
Again he split the pair, giving Ursuline a four-point lead (43-39).
Campbell's Phillips scored with 2 seconds left to get the Red Devils to within two, but the Irish didn't even have to inbound the ball to secure the win.
Randall has big game
Lance Randall, a transfer from Canfield, hit several big shots for Ursuline, finishing with 18 points.
"My teammates were just giving me the ball when I was hot and that says it all," said Randall. "One of the coaches told me it was my night, so I just went out and played the game. Our team really came together and played great defense. We just kept saying that this isn't our last game."
It was Ursuline's fourth district championship and first since 1997. The Irish have won district crowns in 1969, 1994, 1997 and 2006. The 1994 squad went on to win a state championship.
The 1997 district title team was coached by current Campbell head coach Brian Danilov. Before coming to Ursuline, Danilov led the Red Devils to the 1993 state crown.
With the Ursuline boys advancing to regional play, it is the first time in school history that both the girls and boys teams are simultaneously alive in the regional tournament.