43
Ursuline exploits gaps in Mooney’s zone
By Curtis Pulliam
Youngstown
Even as he was losing his voice — like he does every game — you could hear Ursuline head coach Keith Gunther yelling, “Attack the gaps!”
After getting the message across, the Irish used a big third quarter to defeat rival Cardinal Mooney, 63-47, in front of a packed house at Ursuline High School.
“A lot of teams don’t want to go up and down with us,” Gunther said. “So what they do is sit back in a zone and our focus is to attack the gaps so that two of their players guard you. And then we can move the ball.”
That’s exactly what the Irish (14-2) did — especially in the third quarter. Leading 31-24 with just over five minutes left in the quarter, senior guard Mark Hughes drained a 3-pointer to increase the lead to 10.
The Irish outscored the Cardinals 20-7 in the quarter and led 48-29 when it was over.
“We really moved the ball well tonight and we found the open man,” said Hughes, a Wright State commit.
Hughes ended the night with 22 points but he wasn’t the only one to have an impact for the Irish. Greg Parella also scored 22 points.
“We really feed off each other,” Hughes said of Parella. “When he starts making shots, he makes me raise my level.”
The Irish had eight 3-pointers, seven of which came from Hughes and Parella.
“It makes coaching easier,” Gunther said of Ursuline’s duo. “ You can be the greatest coach in the world but if you don’t have good players, it’s going to be tough for you to win.”
Parella could feel the momentum start to swing in the third quarter.
“We try to hold teams to under 10 points a quarter,” he said. “Whenever we can do that, we have a chance to win.”
Mooney head coach Brian Danilov knew the third quarter was the difference.
“It’s where they did well and we didn’t do well,” he said.
After a second-quarter letdown, the Irish turned the intensity up on the defensive end with a zone of their own.
“We needed a little bit more patience and poise,” Danilov said. “We have to do a better job of executing.”
Trell Thomas scored seven of his 16 points in the first half for the Cardinals (8-6).
Gunther knew halftime adjustments were needed.
“We couldn’t let him (Thomas) drive anymore,” Gunther said. “We wanted them to shoot the 3.”
Ursuline opened the game shooting well, posting 16 points in the first quarter.
Defensively, the Irish had a solid effort by allowing eight points. Mooney scored its first points on a free throw with 2:36 left in quarter.
“You have to close out against good guards,” Danilov said. “We also have to communicate more.”
Parella couldn’t name the number of times he’s heard Gunther say, “Attack the gaps!” in practice. But he knows the Irish needed to do that against a zone defense.
“We know he’s trying to get us better,” Parella said. “So we take it.”
The Cardinals were without Andrew Armstrong. Danilov did not provide a reason for his absence.
The two teams battle again Friday at Mooney.
“If he [Armstrong] plays Friday we change our game plan to him,” Gunther said.
As for his voice coming back for the game Gunther was not worried.
“It leaves every game, but by tomorrow, at about noon it will be back,” he said with a smile. “It’s used to it.”