Second season begins

Photo by: Nick Mays

Special to the Vindicator

Photo

Salem's Ryan Bush (1) shoots past the defense of Matt Latham (44) and Luke Butcher (2) during their game Monday night in Boardman.

Photo by: Nick Mays

Special to the Vindicator

Photo

Mooney's Danny Reese (24) tries to keep the ball from Ray Russ (4) during their game Monday night in Boardman.

Mooney handles Niles; Salem holds off W.B.

By Joe Scalzo

scalzo@vindy.com

BOARDMAN

After watching his team take an early lead and never let up against Niles on Monday night, Cardinal Mooney High boys basketball coach Chris Kohl couldn’t help thinking, “Why can’t every game go this smoothly?”

“We came out with intensity, took control right away and never looked back,” Kohl said after the Cardinals’ 60-36 win in a Division II sectional semifinal at Boardman High. “It was kind of a nice feeling, to be honest with you.”

The Cardinals (9-10) entered with a somewhat deceiving record, having lost to a host of Division I teams on a schedule that was designed to make them look better in March than January.

Led by guards Ryan Farragher (13 points, six rebounds, four assists) and Danny Reese (16 points, five assists), the Cardinals shared the ball on offense and repeatedly attacked the middle of the Niles defense for easy layups.

Although the Red Dragons trailed just 14-10 after the first quarter, it was due more to the Cardinals’ offensive struggles (they shot 6 for 18) than anything else.

Sure enough, Mooney outscored Niles 19-8 in the second quarter and rolled the rest of the way.

“We felt like if we played a zone and made them shoot outside, it might be to our advantage, and it worked out that way” said Kohl, whose team will meet Crestwood at 6 p.m. Wednesday. “If I could only hit the lottery numbers that well, it’d be great.”

Bobby Marino scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Ray Russ added 14 for Niles (8-13).

“We talked about playing with intensity from the start,” Niles coach Rick Kover said. “We knew they’d be intense and we just didn’t match it.

“Give them credit, they played harder than we did tonight and they deserve to win.”

In the late game, guard Ryan Bush scored 22 points to lead four Quakers in double figures as Salem beat their rivals for the second time in a week, dropping West Branch 72-63.

Tylor Rockwell scored 27 to lead West Branch (4-17).

“It’s still a pretty strong rivalry game and we couldn’t put them away,” Salem coach Rich Hart said. “They kept playing hard and kept coming at us.”

Taylor Frederickson scored 17 with eight rebounds, Jake Madison had 16 points and Trent Kenreigh had 13 for the Quakers (10-11), but Hart credited guard Eric Bailey (who had just two points) for supplying the X factor on defense.

Or, more specifically, the “E” factor.

“He just energizes us,” Hart said. “Bailey gave us the lift we needed.”

The Quakers will meet top-seeded Struthers on Wednesday. Salem lost by more than 20 points in each of the previous two meetings this season, but Hart thinks he picked up a few tips from watching West Virginia powerhouse Huntington Prep beat the Wildcats on Saturday.

“I found out what we need is two or three 7-footers and a couple 6-5 guards and we could handle them without a problem,” he said.

“We actually played a pretty good second half at their place and a pretty good first half at our place.

“We just have to put two of them together.”