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Mooney basketball clamps down on JFK
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Cardinal Mooney’s Jonny Durkin (right) steals the ball away from Warren JFK’s A.J. Grant (left) as the Cardinals’ Nicholas Koken (3) helps out on defense in Tuesday’s game in Warren. Mooney shut down the Eagles’ offense on their way to a victory.
WARREN
Cardinal Mooney High School’s boys basketball team went into Warren JFK’s gymnasium and beat the Eagles on more than just the scoreboard.
The Cardinals beat them up physically.
The aggressor from the opening tip, Mooney fought its way to a 63-43 win over JFK.
“They’re big, they’re strong, they’re physical — they all look like men that live in the weight room,” Eagles coach John Richards said of Mooney.
“They kind of have a football mentality with a very aggressive approach.”
Forward Andrew Armstrong led the charge for the Cardinals (6-2) with 15 points and eight rebounds, while limiting JFK big man Zach Usher to six points on 2-of-8 shooting. It’s a style of play Armstrong’s become accustomed to in the fall as a safety on Mooney’s football team.
His basketball coach, Brian Danilov, is glad to have the 6-foot-2 junior, who he says always come to play.
“I think I was just born with that mentality,” Armstrong said. “Working hard at practice, working hard every day and doing the little things that count.
“Just getting better every day and staying humble through all that.”
Guard Trell Thomas helped Mooney jump out to a early lead with 15 first-half points. He finished with 18 and six rebounds.
The Eagles (5-3) started the game 0-for-5 from the floor, before Isaac Carrino knocked down one of his five 3-pointers on the night. Their shooting woes didn’t get much better, finishing 13-of-43 (30 percent) against Mooney’s pressure defense.
“They were just way more aggressive than we were,” Richards said. “We knew what was coming, but everything that we preached to our kids — they did everything better than we did tonight.
“The better team won. They beat us straight up.”
The Cardinals dominated the Eagles 34-18 on the glass, many of which were offensive rebounds that led to second chance points.
Carrino was the Eagles’ leading scorer with 18 points, as they again missed James Burney’s leadership on the court. Point guard Preston Caparanis struggled for most of the night, going just 1-for-6 and finishing with four points.
He also got nose-to-nose with Cardinals point guard Antonio Bruno late in the third quarter. Caparanis was fouled after intercepting a pass on defense and took exception to the Mooney guard’s physicality. He got up and shoved Bruno causing the two to butt foreheads, resulting in matching technical fouls.
“We just had to be physical, box out, get in peoples faces, close out on shooters,” Armstong said. “Basically, just work hard and I think we did that tonight.”
The altercation came with 1:09 left in the third quarter and Mooney comfortably ahead, 47-32. It was a 23-point third quarter that allowed the Cardinals to cruise to victory.
“I think our kids learned a valuable lesson that discipline goes a long way in overcoming physicality, aggressiveness and that kind of style,” Richards said. “When you don’t play disciplined, you’re not going to beat anyone.”
Mooney gets a few days to recover before welcoming bitter rival Ursuline for a Friday night showdown.
The Irish beat Sharon last night as Mark Hughes nursed his hip injury.
Only now will Danilov allow his team to begin focusing on the Irish.
“We’re not looking past anybody,” he said. “We’re just trying to get better as a team.”