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Ursuline, Howell dunk Salem
BOARDMAN
Gallery
Salem was given a dose of its own medicine Saturday evening in a Division II district final against Ursuline.
After the Quakers held Poland to just one point in the opening quarter in their district semifinal, Ursuline held the Quakers to just two points in the second quarter en route to a 70-33 rout to win their fourth consecutive district crown.
“The second quarter was the difference in the game,” Ursuline head coach Keith Gunther said. “We trapped out of our zone defense after we came out a bit tight in the first quarter. They turned it over a little and missed some shots while fortunately we made some shots.”
Anthony Howell led all scorers with 21 points while Anise Algahmee had 14 points in the win.
Salem’s Mitch Davidson scored 15 points, the lone player to reach double figures for the Quakers.
The first quarter saw five lead changes and what appeared to be an even game. Algahmee hit his first of four 3-pointers right before the buzzer to give Ursuline the 13-10 lead at the end of the quarter.
Salem head coach Rich Hart felt that his team missed opportunities from the start to maintain an early advantage.
“We had three or four breakouts in that first quarter where we could’ve been ahead after one,” Hart said. “But you don’t capitalize on them and you turn it over and it leads to their fast break. That’s what you don’t want to get into because we just fueled their fire.
“If we converted and threw the ball a foot farther here and there then we get a layup and we could’ve been up 16- or 18-13 instead of being down 13-10 after the first quarter.”
But once Ursuline went to its zone it was game over. Salem had difficultly running many set plays and settled for outside shots.
“They’re athletic,” Salem senior Jon Gerace said. “I don’t know what else to say. They got in the air and pulled down boards. They were strong.”
Offensively, Ursuline’s guards were the difference in the second half. They were able to hit open 3s and if Salem’s defenders guarded them too closely, the Irish easily slipped past them for to the hoop for layups.
“They were lights-out,” Gerace said. “They were quicker than lightning.”
But Howell was the biggest obstacle Salem could not overcome. The big man had nine field goals, including a monstrous dunk that nearly brought the entire hoop down.
“All I remember is Dakota [Hobbs] getting it down to me and I saw the opportunity, so I just dunked it,” Howell said. “It was definitely my best dunk of the year.”
Cleveland Central Catholic is next for Ursuline in a regional semifinal on Thursday.
“We’ll go out tonight for a dinner. We’ll laugh, we’ll joke and have a good time,” Gunther said. “Then we’ll take [Sunday] off since we played so many days in a row and then we come back Monday to refocus and get prepared for regionals.”