Ursuline, Poland boys both play tonight

March 13, 2014 at 12:00a.m.

Postponement gives Ursuline

an extra day of practice for regional

YOUNGSTOWN

Wednesday’s postponement of the Division III regional basketball semifinals was good news for Ursuline.

“[Armon Nassari] would not be able to play today,” Ursuline head coach Keith Gunther said before Wednesday’s practice. “He’s sick, but he’ll probably be able to play tomorrow.

“It’s actually a bit of a fortunate blessing for us,” Gunther said. “He’s a 6-6 freshman and we’re playing against a big team.”

Ursuline (17-8) will take on Creston Norwayne (23-3) tonight at 8, at the Canton Field House. The doubleheader was postponed on Wednesday because of the wintry blast that struck Northeastern Ohio.

Nassari has been suffering from the flu, but is expected to be well enough to play tonight.

“They’ve got some big bodies on their team,” junior Mark Hughes said of Creston Norwayne. “They are kind of like [Warren] Harding, but not nearly as athletic.

“They like to slow it down and play in the half court,” Hughes said. “We plan on pressuring them, forcing turnovers and get the game going.”

Sophomore guard Greg Parella said, “They don’t shoot well, but they are big and they rebound well.”

Poland, the only other Mahoning Valley basketball team still alive, also plays tonight. The Bulldogs (23-2) will face Cleveland Central Catholic (19-6) at 6:15 p.m. at the Canton Memorial Civic Center.

Ursuline senior Giovanni Naples said the Irish took the postponement news in stride. He found out when an uncle in Canton texted him that the tournament was postponed one night.

“I looked outside and there was no snow,” said Naples who is 6-foot-5. “And then I look outside two-and-a-half hours later, and it’s a blizzard.’

Naples didn’t mind having some extra time.

“It’s another day of preparation, of getting ready for the regionals,” said Naples, who calls this extra week of basketball “a blessing. I believe we’ve worked hard for it. We earned it and we’re just going to keep fighting to see how far we can get.”

Naples said last year’s double-overtime loss to LaBrae in the district final has the Irish appreciating their first regional trip in three seasons.

“It felt like we came so close and we have to finish the job this year,” Naples said.

Ursuline defeated Girard, 73-63, in last Friday’s district final. Dave Collins said he remembers how emotional the seniors were after the loss to the Vikings ended last season.

“We didn’t want to see that happen again,” Collins said. “So to win [district] was really big.”

Gunther relished the chance for an extra day to coach.

“It gives us an extra day for preparation, to get some shooting in and maybe a little more hunger for the game,” Gunther said. “They’ve got some big kids.

“They got a 6-6 kid, they’ve got another who is 6-3,” Gunther said. “They are not just tall — they are muscled up. We’ve got to be able to guard them in the post.

“With our athleticism and our speed, we want the game to be a track meet,” Gunther said. “We want to play end-to-end for four quarters.

“If they play us man-to-man, it’s going to be tough for them to guard us.”