Fine finish for Mooney

L.J. Sutton scored 21 points as the Cardinals dropped Boardman 46-42.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- By scoring 10 points on four buckets in the first quarter, Boardman High sophomore Ryan Pesta could not have enjoyed a much better start.
Mooney junior L.J. Sutton, who scored 19 of his game-high 21 points after the first quarter, couldn't have had a much better finish in the Cardinals' 46-42 victory Tuesday in Boardman's gymnasium.
The contest was loaded with all the contact you would expect from the former Steel Valley Conference rivals.
"It was a physical game," agreed Mooney coach Steve Leslie after the Cardinals made 16 of 22 free throws. "It was a typical Mooney-Boardman game."
Boardman (7-13) took 16 shots from the free-throw line, making 13 of them.
"It's a great rivalry and I think it's a rivalry that needs to continue," Leslie said. "The kids know one another, they're good friends and they're both competitive."
Tuesday's game swung back and forth several times before Mooney (7-11) asserted itself down the stretch, outscoring the Spartans 15-8 in the fourth quarter.
Sutton made seven baskets and seven free throws, and pulled down eight rebounds.
"He was excellent," Leslie said. "He stepped when we needed him to and he took the time to make good moves."
Boardman coach Jared Cardillo agreed.
"He had a great game," Cardillo said. "We played man, we played zone and whatever we threw at him, he found a way to put the ball in the hole."
Nice run
Trailing 15-6 heading into the second quarter, the Cardinals surged to a one-point halftime edge behind two baskets by Dan McCarthy, four points from Tim Marlowe and seven from Sutton including five free throws.
Four free throws by T.J. Hosa and five points by Devron Martin helped the Spartans win the third quarter, 14-10, for a 34-31 lead.
Sutton closed the game with eight points and four rebounds in the final quarter.
"It felt like they were still a part of the SVC," Sutton said of the hard knocks felt by both sides. "We played hard and we played intense."
Pesta finished with 13 points and Leslie credited McCarthy for it not being a lot more.
"Dan McCarthy played outstanding defense on Pesta all night," Leslie said. "We were able to limit some of his shots and that really helped us. We made him work for his points."
Good depth
Another factor that helped Mooney's final surge was rest for their inside defenders.
Leslie used Michael Gemma and Brandon Beachum to give "our big guys some [rest]. We feel that we have a pretty good nucleus so we feel we can play a lot of guys," Leslie said. "Getting some guys some breaks was big for us."
After Sutton, Mooney's next highest scorers were McCarthy and Mike Zordich with seven apiece.
For the Spartans, Pesta scored 13 while Martin had nine.
Mooney closes its regular-season schedule on Friday against Beaver Local, another former SVC opponent. The Cardinals will open Division III tournament play on Monday in Salem against Lisbon.
"We've got a lot of confidence now, with a four-game winning streak," Sutton said. "This win gives us motivation for going into the tournament."
Boardman, now of the Federal League, will open its Div. I tournament in Canton on Tuesday.
"We knew Mooney was going to come in here and play hard. They outplayed us at some points in the game and I thought we hurt ourselves at some points in the game -- just simple turnovers," Cardillo said. "And if you are going to play a team who plays that hard, you can't make those mistakes."
williams@vindy.com