Hornbuckle’s 19 helps lead East past Mooney

January 14, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

The Cardinal Mooney High boys basketball team had the upper hand on the East Panthers last season, stopping them both times that they met.

It took two overtime sessions Friday, but the Panthers returned the favor.

Mike Hornbuckle scored 19 points, including nine of his team’s 14 points after regulation as the Panthers stopped the Cardinals, 64-61, at the East Gymnasium.

“Mike [Hornbuckle], he’s really come on for us,” said East coach Mark Cherol. “It’s just his second year in our program but he continues to improve and always wants the ball with the game on the line.

“As Mike goes, so do we.”

The two teams had previously met on Dec. 6 when East defeated Cardinal Mooney, 71-64 at the Cardinals’ gymnasium.

“Cardinal Mooney is a much improved team from the first time that we met back in early December,” Cherol said. “It was our second game of the season and their first and you could just tell back then that they were going to be a tough team this season.”

The Cardinals’ Doug Caputo and East’s Deontay Scott that lit up the nets in the opening period with Caputo scoring 10 points and Scott six as the two teams battled to a 12-12 deadlock.

Caputo would finish with 19 points and Scott 11 on the evening.

Mooney’s Ryan Farragher then scored seven of his 19 points in the second period as the Cardinals outscored the Panthers, 17-13 in the frame to forge a 29-25 halftime advantage.

“As quick a team as East is, you cannot commit as many turnovers as we did tonight and expect to win,” said Cardinals coach Chris Kohl. “It was a nip-and-tuck battle right to the end and let me tell you that the fans really got their money’s worth tonight.

“We’re getting better, but it’s been a really slow process. Without a league affiliation, the tournament is what we are preparing for and I really believe that we will be fine come tournament time. Slowly but surely we are starting to click. We just need that one big win to get us over the hump.”

Six points by East’s Taylor Johnson after the intermission helped fuel the Panthers’ comeback, offsetting Farragher’s eight markers as the Panthers outscored Mooney, 17-13 to knot the game at 42-42 with eight minutes remaining in regulation.

Despite six points by the Cardinals’ George Brandenstein, neither team could execute offensively, both scoring eight points in the period to force the extra session tied at 50.

Both teams scored six points in the first overtime with Hornbuckle scoring all of the Panthers’ points.

Three points by Hornbuckle and two free throws by Jamirr Humphrey with two seconds remaining then sealed the Panthers’ victory.

“I just did what I could do to help the team and what the coaches wanted me to do in overtime,” Hornbuckle said. “Cardinal Mooney is one great defensive team and they made us work for everything on the offensive end of the court.”

Cardinal Mooney (2-8) was 25 of 60 from the field while the Panthers (6-4) were 23 of 78.

East held a 41-37 rebound advantage with Caputo hauling in a game-high 17 caroms for Cardinal Mooney and Scott a team-high 11 for the Panthers.