Strong start pushes Irish past Mooney

By Greg Gulas

sports@vindy.com

Youngstown

Khiree Gregory scored 16 points and Devonte Jenkins added 14 as the Ursuline Fighting Irish defeated Cardinal Mooney, 50-35 Friday at the Ursuline High gymnasium.

With the win the Fighting Irish (10-5) gained a split of the season series with their arch-rivals, avenging a 55-49 loss suffered at the hands of the Cardinals on Dec. 17.

“We let one get away from us the first time and the following day, posted The Vindicator article on our bulletin board to serve as a reminder of that night,” Ursuline’s Keith Gunther said. “This is a rivalry game; a pride thing so you throw out all the records. This game isn’t just for the kids on either side. It’s for the parents and their respective communities as well. That’s what makes this such a great rivalry.”

Gunther said his seniors stepped up in what they knew was a big game.

“The key for us tonight was the play of our three seniors; Khiree [Gregory], Devonte [Jenkins] and Atiim [Smith],” Gunther said. “We did a great job defensively in the first half to hold them in check, but got a little complacent after the intermission. This was an excellent win for us and hopefully it will get us a good draw in the tourney.”

When the Cardinals stopped the Fighting Irish in the first outing, they outscored Ursuline, 23-16 in the final quarter for a six-point victory. But on Friday, the Fighting Irish led from the opening tip to the final buzzer to halt their two-game tailspin.

Jenkins and Gregory scored four points each in the opening period, Ryan Strollo then added the first of his two triples as Ursuline raced to the early 9-2 advantage and a comfortable, 15-6 margin after the first quarter.

After Smith scored four of his eight points in the second, the Fighting Irish had built a 24-13 lead at the half. The five buckets and 13 first-half points were season lows in both areas for the Cardinals.

Gregory said he was happy to pick up the slack for the Fighting Irish as needed.

“My teammates just got me the ball and I was able to get it back into their hands to make some plays,” he said. “It’s great to have guys underneath cleaning up and then getting some key second chance opportunities.”

Five points by the Cardinals’ Danny Reese after halftime helped Cardinal Mooney pull to within 36-27 with a quarter remaining. Jenkins then scored seven of his 14 points in the final quarter as Ursuline outscored the Cardinals, 14-8 to preserve the win.

“This was just one of those nights when we couldn’t find the basket. We called every set in our arsenal and it just didn’t work for us,” Mooney’s Chris Kohl said. “Our goal as a team is to try to hold the opposition to 50 points or less and we accomplished that goal tonight. The down side, however, is that you cannot win many games when you score just 35 points.

The Cardinals, who hit just 14 of 46 field goal attempts, saw their modest two-game win streak fall by the wayside and have now split their last six contests.