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Crisis averted for Irish
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Ursuline’s David Collins (20) drives around Sharon’s Jaquan Waller (23) during Monday’s game in Sharon.
SHARON PA.
Greg Parella scored 32 points, Dave Collins grabbed eight rebounds and the Ursuline High School boys basketball team got a double-digit road win Monday night.
It was the Irish’s third straight win without star point guard Mark Hughes.
So why did Irish head coach Keith Gunther describe his teams 68-55 victory over Sharon High as painful?
Eighteen turnovers will do that do a coach.
“I thought we came out of the gates really good, shot it well, defended well and then we started just throwing it all over the place,” Gunther said. “Turning it over and not making good decisions.”
Parella’s 17 first-quarter points helped the Irish (8-1) jump out to a big advantage early. Then the Tigers (3-6) turned up their full-court press, forcing the Irish into nine second-quarter turnovers.
Without Hughes, who was again sidelined nursing a hip injury, the ball handling duties were left to Parella and Collins.
“It’s tough, but I think Dave and I are really good players and we’d love to have [Mark], but we can play without him,” Parella said. “Obviously, we can’t wait to have him back.”
They shouldn’t have to wait much longer as Gunther said he expects Hughes to be ready to go for Friday’s matchup against Cardinal Mooney.
In the meantime, the Wright State-commit was forced to watch from the bench, as his teammates struggled with Sharon’s press for most of the second quarter. The Tigers cut the deficit to six at the half.
Parella was held to just one point in the second quarter after going 7-of-10 in the first eight minutes.
“I got really tired,” Parella admitted. “We’ve been playing the whole game the past three [times] without Mark, but I came out hot and cooled down a little.”
The junior guard finished 10-of-17 from the field and 9-of-11 from the foul line. It was a scoring outburst that Gunther doesn’t hope to always need, but is thankful to have.
“Greg’s really stepping it up,” Gunther said. “He’s shooting the ball well, he’s getting to the basket, he’s making his free throws.
“He’s got his confidence, so that’s really helped with Mark sitting a little bit.”
The Irish turned the ball over only twice in the third quarter and were able to rebuild a lead that lasted until the final buzzer. It was also Ursuline’s zone defense that limited Sharon to 39 percent shooting from the field.
When searching for an identity without Hughes, Parella says it’s comforting to fall back on what they know.
“We work so hard in practice on our defense and that’s what Ursuline baketball is,” he said.
If playing without a regular starter has had one advantage for the Irish, it’s that role players are given an opportunity to show what they can do. Big men Anthony Howell and Devin Harden played significant minutes, allowing them to gain experience.
“I told our guys, and they never believe me, that he’d be ready come tournament time,” Gunther said of Harden, who stands 6-foot-7 and plays on the JV team.
“Well, he’s a little ahead of schedule.”
Sharon was led by Jason Austin’s 15 points. Jamal Walker scored 14 and had six rebounds.