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East defense ties up Mooney
By Greg Gulas
YOUNGSTOWN
Deontay Scott registered a double-double and the East High defense forced 36 Cardinal Mooney turnovers as the Panthers toppled the Cardinals, 71-64 Tuesday at the Cardinal Gymnasium.
Scott, who had a game-high 21 points, hauled in 11 caroms as the Panthers won for the second time in as many outings.
“We got out of the gate rather quickly, but had to hit the final two buckets of the half in order to take the halftime lead,” Scott said. “It was a good beginning for us, but the third period was the key when we were able to build a 17-point lead.
“We’re a pretty good offensive team right now, but we still have quite a bit to work on in order to become an even better team.”
Mike Hornbuckle’s two buckets keyed a 12-2 run to start the game for the Panthers, but nine points by George Brandenstein keyed a 13-9 spurt as Mooney cut the East lead to 22-15 at the quarter.
Doug Caputo’s eight points in the second period helped the Cards build a 34-31 advantage, but buckets by both Hornbuckle and Glen Gabriel to close the frame gave East the 35-34 edge.
A 19-3 run by East to start the second half, keyed by Scott’s eight points, proved to be the impetus needed by the Panthers in order to wrest the momentum from the Cards.
“Their run to start the second half was the key,” said Mooney coach Chris Kohl. “We preach be ready and own the third quarter, but we came out cold after the intermission and that was the deciding factor.
”We’re a work in progress; a team that is looking for an identity. I was proud of our team and the way that they fought back while never giving up.”
After taking a 54-37 lead to start the third period, a triple by Demetrius Allen and a three-point play by Saivon Watt helped the Cardinals (0-1) close the period on a 10-4 run to close to 58-47 with eight minutes remaining.
Allen’s second triple of the game with 1:12 remaining pulled the Cardinals to within 67-62, but would get no closer.
“We knew that we had to kick our play up a notch after halftime in order to regain the momentum from the opening period,” Panthers coach Mark Cherol said. “We need to get more consistent at both ends of the court and that will come with time.
We used quite a few subs tonight because we wanted to see them perform under pressure, which they did.”
Cardinal Mooney held a 39-27 rebounding edge with Brandenstein hauling in a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with his 15 points.
Hornbuckle added 17 markers for the Panthers while Caputo topped the Cardinals offensively with 16 points.
“Cardinal Mooney will get better,” Cherol said. “They are well-coached and have plenty of outstanding talent.”