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Chaney checks a box against Mooney
Cowboys add Mooney to list of victories
By Dan Hiner
Youngstown
The Chaney boys basketball team entered Friday night wins next to Ursuline and East on its schedule, leaving Cardinal Mooney as the only Youngstown team on the schedule that the Cowboys had yet to beat.
The Cowboys can cross the Cardinals off their list after a 57-32 win at Cardinal Mooney High School on Friday night.
Marqel Gillespie led the Cowboys (16-5) with 16 points, six rebounds, three steals and a block. Cam Lawrence scored 12 points and three steals for Chaney.
Prior to their return to basketball this season, the Cowboys made a goal to beat all the Youngstown teams.
“I don’t think we’re really having a rivalry right now,” Gillespie said. “It’s our first year. We’re just trying to look ahead and see what’s next for us.”
While Gillespie doesn’t think there’s a rivalry just yet, Chaney head coach Marlon McGaughy thinks the players will eventually understand the importance of Friday’s win.
“We got a lot of sophomores and freshmen, so I don’t think they understand how big this rivalry is,” McGaughy said. “But I think they’ll get it in a couple years.”
Chaney didn’t waste time, jumping out to a 19-2 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Cowboys forced the Cardinals into eight turnovers in the quarter, leading to 14 points.
Cardinal Mooney head coach Carey Palermo thought his players were “very timid” against the Cowboys’ press. Chaney opened the game with the press and stayed in it most of the first half.
“The thing that’s frustrating is we had four days to prepare for [the press],” Palermo said. “It’s nothing we haven’t seen. But again, when you start like that — the confidence level — all that stuff broke down.”
The Cardinals’ offense started to heat up in the second quarter, but still trailed 30-10 at halftime. The Cowboys put the game out of reach with a 9-2 run to start the third quarter.
“The start of the game dictated everything for us,” Palermo said. “We were a step slow defensively because now we’re trying to gamble. Now we’re trying to ball watch and what not instead of playing fundamental basketball.”
Pete Haas mad the Cardinals’ only basket in the first quarter. He led Mooney (7-9) with eight points and three rebounds. Mike Pelini had seven points, two steals and a block.
Defense was a focal point for McGaughy this week. Specifically, he wanted his players to work on their press.
The practice paid off as the Cardinals shot 13 of 42 (30.9 percent) from the field and committed 21 turnovers.
“We had a really good summer,” McGaughy said. “We’re getting better every day. We’re still in a process, but we’re not as good as I want to be.”
With the sectional tournament beginning in a little more than a week, the Cowboys are looking to make some noise in the postseason. McGaughy and Gillespie agreed the team’s success will come down to their defense.
“I think we’ll be fine,” Gillespie said. “We gotta pick up that defense. We got a lot better. We ain’t looking nothing like this in the beginning of the season.”