Mooney pulls away from Ravenna in second half

March 4, 2015 at 12:05a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

A quick look at the final score of Cardinal Mooney’s 75-49 victory over Ravenna suggests the Cardinals had an easy time in Tuesday’s Division II boys basketball tournament opener.

Well, in the second half, they did. The first half was another story.

“We had too many turnovers,” Mooney’s Andrew Armstrong said. “First playoff game, maybe we had some first-game jitters.

“We were just playing fast and forcing bad shots on offense.”

After a solid start, the Cardinals were sluggish in the second quarter and led by just five points going into the locker room.

“They played hard, they wanted to beat us,” Armstrong said of the Ravens. “I think in tournament we’re going to get an opponent’s best.”

Asked what message he delivered to his players to spur on a better performance, Mooney coach Brian Danilov smiled.

“I don’t know if you could print it,” Danilov said. “We had to come out and play like we’re capable of playing.”

Armstrong, who led the Cardinals with 19 points, offered to paraphrase the halftime speech.

“Basically, [it was] let’s go,” Armstrong said. “It’s time to run. You guys had it easy in the first half, it’s time to go. All that [bad] stuff is behind you, it’s time to play.”

The second half was a much different story as the Cardinals soared to a 51-32 lead by outscoring the Ravens 20-6 in the third quarter.

“They were executing better on offense than we were on defense,” Danilov said of the Ravens’ first half. “Everybody’s got roles to play and it’s the time of year where they are supposed to star in those roles, not deviate from them and try to do something out of character.”

Message received.

“We regrouped at halftime,” Armstrong said. “We started boxing out more, running fast breaks.

“Nick [Braydich] stepped in and had a couple of clutch and-ones and rebounds.”

Braydich pulled down 11 rebounds, blocked two shots and scored nine points, just missing his first double-double.

“It’s the best time of the year,” Braydich said.

The Cardinals (15-7) couldn’t have started much better defensively, forcing 10 turnovers in the first quarter in opening up a 17-10 lead.

But the Ravens (4-19) won the second quarter, frustrating the Cardinals into uncomfortable shots.

“They were getting penetration,” Braydich said. “We didn’t have any outside defense.”

Antonio Bruno scored 15 points while Jonny Durkin had 10 points and five assists as the Cardinals advance to another home game. Friday, Hubbard will play at Cardinal Mooney in a sectional final.

For the Ravens, Anthony Banks led with 12 points while Derek Cross contributed nine points and eight rebounds.

“It’s the best time of the year to play basketball.” Armstrong said. “We work hard the whole regular season,” Armstrong said. “In the summer, we lift weights, we get in condition.

“It’s a blast [perhaps] playing the Canfields and the Polands, eventually,” Armstrong said. “But you can’t look past anyone.

“In high school basketball, it’s anyone’s game.”