Ursuline is outlasted by Northwest, 54-51, in Pizza Oven Classic

By Tom Williams

The Irish stayed in the game to the end despite being without point guard Dale Peterman.

NORTH CANTON — Minus point guard Dale Peterman, who is making a recruiting trip to Syracuse University, the Ursuline High boys basketball team struggled for three quarters to find an offensive rhythm against Canal Fulton Northwest.

But Marques Jones’ 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer gave the Irish hope, cutting the Indians’ surprising lead to 38-28.

In the final frame, the Irish turned on their jets to reduce a 12-point lead to two with 2:06 to play

But the Indians didn’t buckle, scoring nine more free throws down the stretch to hang on for a 54-51 victory Saturday at the Pizza Oven Classic at North Canton Hoover High.

“We were struggling to score in the half-court [offense],” Ursuline (5-3) coach Keith Gunther said. “That was smart on their part to play us zone.

“We were trying to get it uptempo, to get some steals and get some easy buckets,” Gunther said. “We started to do that in the fourth quarter.”

Ahead 26-21, the Indians (2-8) dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Irish 12-7. But Jones’ last-second shot gave the Irish hope.

Defensively, the Irish limited the Indians to one basket in the final frame. But Northwest made 14 of 20 free throws.

“I know we’re not used to having the lead by double digits,” said Northwest coach Mike Lower, explaining that the Indians have been close all of their defeats except one. “We haven’t closed out games, but we’ve been right there.

“It seems like we find a way to not win and tonight it had that same feel,” Lower said. “Fortunately, we stepped up to hit some key free throws.”

Leading the way for the Indians was junior guard Tim May who made 11 free throws, all in the final quarter.

“We started fouling them a little bit too much,” Gunther said. “They knocked down some key free throws.

Tim Caillet’s bucket to open the fourth quarter gave the Indians a 40-28 edge. The Irish then launched a 15-5 run to apply pressure.

“We got them rattled a little bit when we got back in the game,” Gunther said. “But they made some key free throws down the stretch.

Dominique Cole scored 20 points on eight baskets and two free throws to lead the Irish. He scored eight points in the final eight minutes.

“Cole had 20 but he struggled for the 20 he got,” Gunther said. “They played smart the whole game.”

Gunther was not pleased with the Irish performance at the foul line.

“We shot 11 of 24 from foul line,” Gunther said. “That was essentially the ball game right there. We set a goal to shoot 70 percent from the line so we were way, way below that.

“I’m frustrated, more frustrated then I have been in years,” Gunther said. “It’s just been one of those years. We started off great and some things just happened ... a couple of guys aren’t here.”

Gunther said two players are no longer on the team after disciplinary problems. He also said that Jamel Turner, a junior who has committed to an Ohio State football scholarship, is not playing basketball to concentrate on football.

“We’re trying to figure out what we’ve got to do to get it back together for a winning season,” Gunther said. “We were trying here to get some younger guys to step up. We’re going to have to figure out a way to win. Dale will be back hopefully on Tuesday.”

DeVonte Jenkins scored eight points for the Irish while Dakota Trosky had six. Reggie Revere pulled down seven rebounds.

For the Indians, Caillet came off the bench to score 13 points. Evan Hudson scored 11 while substitute Adam Szilagyi had nine.

“Ursuline is a good basketball team with great tradition,” Lower said. “I don’t know how much our kids know about them being from Youngstown but from my perspective, it’s a huge win.”

williams@vindy.com