Bowers’ late shot leads East to win

The Panthers overcame a sluggish second quarter to upend Ursuline, 52-50.

YOUNGSTOWN — Senior Anthony Bowers got a rebound of Kenny Carter’s missed free throw and made the putback to snap a tie to give East its 52-50 margin of victory over Ursuline in a non-Steel Valley Conference game.

On Tuesday night, East (12-6, 4-0 SVC) managed to overcome a five-point second quarter to beat the Irish in back-to-back games. East beat Ursuline last Friday, 70-67.

Jarelle Burt had 14 points and Carter 12 for the Panthers, who used the win as a tune-up for Friday’s encounter with Warren Harding for the Steel Valley title when the Raiders come to East’s new gym.

The loss for Ursuline was a tune-up for Friday’s SVC game against Chaney before the Irish (5-14, 0-4 SVC) start Div. III tournament play in Salem with hopes of putting a losing streak behind them.

“We had command of the game, but Ursuline fought its way back,” East coach Mark Cherol said. “We were just fortunate to pull the game out.”

After Carter made his first free-throw attempt to tie the game, 50-50, the 6-3 senior missed his second try. Bowers got the ball and put it back with 15.4 seconds remaining.

Ursuline’s Dale Peterman missed during his initial drive to the basket, then the Irish had three more failed attempts off of their own glass.

“It’s 50-50 and we don’t get a key rebound at the free throw line,” Ursuline coach Keith A. Gunther said. “With 32 seconds left, I’m thinking that we’ve got a chance to get the last shot if he [Carter] misses the free throw. We’re supposed to be fundamental and box out when they’re at the free throw line, yet they get that rebound and get a putback.

“We come down and had three good looks and we couldn’t put them in the bucket.”

East was ahead by 11 points at 48-37 after Carter made two of three free throws after he was fouled in the act of a 3-point goal.

Ursuline closed the gap with the help of DeVonte Jenkins’ six points in the final quarter.

“In the third, they started pressing us and we turned it over five or six times in a row,” Gunther said. “We got rattled, but then we got our heads together and started breaking the press. Then they got up by 11 and we’ve got to start pressing and they start to turn it over, which got us back in the game.”

Cherol said that his Panthers will have to play a lot stronger and better and play four good quarters against Harding.

“If we want to win the [last] SVC championship we’ve got to play our best game of the year.”

Gunther’s strategy Tuesday was to slow down Carter, who had a big game against the Irish last week.

“In the first half, we held them to 21 points by playing great man-to-man defense. We really focused on taking Carter out because he had 26 against us.

“Any time he had the ball and was coming toward us we were doubling him, trying to make him get rid of it. In the first half, East had a couple guys we didn’t expect to hit some shots do so.

Gunther said the losing streak and close losses are frustrating, but he’s won’t despair.

“Am I to the point that I’m saying the season is over? No, not even close.

“It’s tough when you’re losing games by three points or less, but you also know that headed into the tournament, I still feel good about our team. Our kids are down and I’m down when we’re losing, but I’m positive about the tournament.”

Gunther went so far as to examine a list of Ohio schools that had regular seasons with five or six wins, yet run the table in the postseason and win a state championship.

“There have been teams with records like ours that won state.

“Tonight was another example that we’re focused and getting better.”

Ursuline was 10-10 in the regular season the year it won a boys’ state championship.

Mark Thornton had nine of East’s 34 rebounds and the 6-0 senior’s nine points left him one short of a double-double. Of East’s 13 steals, Burt had four.

Of Ursuline’s 31 rebounds, Peterman had 10 and Dakota Trosky eight. Jenkins had four of Ursuline’s four steals.