Ursuline uses 11-0 run, Parella’s 24 to put away Canton Central Catholic

March 19, 2015 at 12:10a.m.

Ursuline uses 11-0 run, Parella’s 24

to put away Canton Central Catholic

CANTON

With its best player in foul trouble and its state tournament hopes slipping away, the Ursuline High boys basketball team turned up the pressure.

And turned out the lights.

The Irish held Canton Central Catholic scoreless over the final 3:30, finishing on an 11-0 run to win 55-45 in Wednesday’s Division III regional semifinal at the Canton Fieldhouse.

“We knew that they’re a team that likes to run sets, so if our defense took them out of their game, they would struggle,” junior guard Greg Parella said. “We made them uncomfortable.”

Parella scored five of his 24 points over the final stretch when the Irish held Central to 0-for-6 shooting with two turnovers. It was a fine finish to an otherwise iffy game from Ursuline (22-5), which will meet defending state runner-up Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph in Saturday’s regional final. VASJ beat Massillon Tuslaw 88-48 in the other semifinal.

“I’m excited about getting to the Elite Eight but I’m just not happy with how we played,” said Ursuline coach Keith Gunther. “I think Central was a major cause of that. They wanted to play a half-court basketball game and that’s not our style.”

Irish senior guard Mark Hughes, a Wright State recruit, battled foul trouble all night, picking up two fouls in the first quarter and four by the end of the third. He had rallied Ursuline past Central in the teams’ first meeting, scoring 11 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter of a 58-48 victory on Jan. 17, but finished with just nine points on Wednesday.

No problem. Junior Dave Collins started attacking early in the fourth, getting to the free-throw line three straight times over a 45-second stretch to give Ursuline a 44-38 lead with 6:32 remaining.

“[Gunther] told us they [the Crusaders] were gonna have to help on Greg, so we put him in a corner and that gave me more room to try to get to the rack,” said Collins, who finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists. “With us three guards, any one of us can have a great night. We’re not just dependent on one person.”

Added Gunther, “I thought Collins was just unbelievable, taking over the game down the stretch.”

The Irish missed their next five shots to fall behind 45-44, but by then, the Crusaders were in serious foul trouble. At one point in the fourth quarter, four of Central’s five players had four fouls.

“We were looking to get to the basket to try and get them in foul trouble and maybe get a couple of their guards out of the game,” Gunther said.

Jordan Ransaw led Central (18-6) with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Christian Creamer had 11 points, five assists and four rebounds.

Ursuline, which lost to VASJ 69-60 in last year’s regional final, has not reached the state semifinals since winning it all in 1994. That’s also the last time a Mahoning Valley boys basketball team won a state championship.

“We’re just proud to represent the Valley in the Elite Eight,” Gunther said. “Hopefully we can get one more on Saturday.”