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Elza’s big first half powers Panthers
Bristol wins on Cardinal Mooney’s floor
By Greg Gulas
YOUNGSTOWN
Gage Elza had a game-high 25 points and hauled in five rebounds to lead the Bristol Panthers to a 59-51 win over Cardinal Mooney in the penultimate regular-season game for both teams.
Head coach Craig Giesy’s Panthers (18-3) have won at least 18 games in each of the last five seasons.
Elza, who had 21 points by halftime, turned playmaker in the second half when the Cardinals keyed on him. Mooney held Elza scoreless in the third and to just four points after halftime. Matt Church added nine points and Damion Durst had eight for Bristol.
“Our schedule tested us this season, especially the past three weeks with some close games. Tonight, Cardinal Mooney was another tough test,” Elza said. “The game plan was to stop Pete Haas on the drive and know where Anthony Fire was when it came time to rebound.
“When they keyed on me in the second half, I just looked to get my teammates more involved. We knew that it would be a physical game and we needed a game like this to get ready for tournament play.”
Elza scored 10 straight points to end the first quarter as Bristol opened a 14-11 lead. He added 11 points in the second to help offset nine points by Mike Pelini and eight from Haas as the Panthers led 34-31 at the break.
“We upset them at home last year and knew that they would be ready for us at their place this year,” Durst said. “We had an excellent game plan.”
The Panthers opened a 39-36 advantage on a bucket from beyond the arc by Matt Stephens just under two minutes into the second half.
A Pelini basket in the lane at 4:39 of the period pulled Cardinal Mooney (8-13) to within two, 39-37, but the Cardinals got no closer.
Stephens added another bucket in the period, keying a 6-2 run for Bristol as the Panthers opened a 45-39 advantage with one quarter remaining.
The Cardinals’ Anthony Fire scored eight of his 10 points in the final frame, but Bristol canned seven of its 10 charity tosses without allowing the Cardinals a free throw in the second half.
Bristol has won four in a row and 13 of its last 14.
“This club has been in a lot of close games this year and had to play their best in the fourth quarter,” Giesy said. “This was a physical, handsy-type game. Mooney has some strong, athletic players and while I am happy where we are at, we’re not satisfied with where we are at as we get ready for tournament play.”
Haas scored a team-high 19 points for the Cardinals and Pelini had 13.
“We’re so close because it’s been like this for us for a month,” Cardinals head coach Carey Palermo said. “We’ve had some close games where we needed a stop but couldn’t get it done. We’re so close, we’re right there and that’s what hurts because we can play with anyone.
“Careless turnovers hurt, no matter what quarter it is. We have five seniors and I have full confidence in them. We can still make a run and are capable of beating good teams. We just need to finish.”