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Thomas’ big second half lifts Mooney over Fitch
By Greg Gulas
YOUNGSTOWN
Trell Thomas scored 23 points as Cardinal Mooney overcame a sluggish start at the free-throw line to defeat Austintown Fitch, 61-57 in boys basketball action Tuesday night.
Patrick Pelini added nine points while Nick Koken, Pete Haas and Andrew Armstrong each had eight for the Cardinals.
Cardinal Mooney made just eight of their first 16 at the line, but the Cardinals (7-2) made seven of eight attempts in the final period. They scored their last five points of the game at the line and finished 15 of 24.
Thomas, who had just four points in the opening half, responded with 19 points after intermission, drilling all three of his 3-pointers over the final 16 minutes of play.
“My shot felt off in the first half, but I kept shooting and was eventually able to find my rhythm,” Thomas said. “I was then able to get more into the flow of the game with my teammates. Entering the final period the mindset was to keep playing hard and execute.”
Back-to-back triples by Brian Beany and Scotty Duffy staked the Falcons (5-5) to an early 8-4 advantage and Fitch eventually led 13-12 after the first eight minutes of play.
Two more triples by Duffy and six points by Anthony Pangio in the second quarter helped the Falcons open a 29-25 margin at the intermission.
Duffy finished with a team-high 19 points while Pangio added 16 points and 14 rebounds for the game’s only double-double.
Thomas’ 11 points in the third frame helped Cardinal Mooney to cut the Fitch deficit to 40-38 heading to the final quarter.
“It sounds cliche, but the key tonight was that we stuck together and kept playing as a team,” Cardinals head coach Brian Danilov said. “One player is not as effective as five when you are working together.
“Whether it was to shoot, pass or just drive the lane, Trell made excellent decisions tonight. I am happy for the entire team because they worked so hard from the summer until now and it is beginning to pay off. I need to credit assistant coaches Tim Durkin, Tony Venable, Damon Williams, Jimmy Nail and Brandon Tedesco because they’ve really done a great job with the guys this season.”
Duffy’s two free throws with 2:14 remaining knotted the game at 51, but a triple by Haas 23 seconds later gave Cardinal Mooney a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way.
Two free throws and a bucket by Koken made it a 58-55 Cardinals advantage and after Armstrong canned his two charity tosses, Cardinal Mooney opened a 60-55 margin.
Randy Smith’s bucket in the lane cut the Cardinals’ lead to 60-57 with nine seconds remaining, but the Falcons got no closer and saw their modest two-game win streak snapped.
The Cardinals were 20 of 43 from the field, canning six of 13 buckets from beyond the arc. The Falcons were held were 19 of 44 from the field, hitting five of their 13 3-pointers.
Fitch held a 34-27 rebounding advantage as Armstong had a team-high eight rebounds for the Cardinals (5-1).