by Salem, Ohio – Thanks to a second quarter surge, Lake Catholic defeated Cardinal Mooney, 52-38, to capture their first district championship since 2017.
Both teams struggled to find their footing in the first quarter, as neither team made a basket until an Ashton O’ Brien layup with 3:41 left in the first quarter gave Mooney the early 2-0 lead.
Aidan Fitzgerald followed with a bucket on the inside to tie up the score. The Cardinals then responded with a 6-0 run, capped by a Rocco Turner triple from the right corner, to take an 8-2 lead. They would end the quarter up 10-7.
From the second quarter onward, the ball game was all Cougars.
Aidan Fitzgerald hit a triple to tie the game at 10 to start the stanza. Robert Russell followed with a triple to give Lake Catholic the lead, 13-10, not too long after. A pair of Peyton Budrys-Rini free throws, followed by a Cross Nimmo bucket increased the lead to 17-10. A Jibri Turner layup helped bring the run to a close.
Nonetheless, Lake Catholic had all the momentum, outscoring Cardinal Mooney 18-4 in the stanza to take a 25-14 lead at halftime.
Lake Catholic, now 17-9, advances to the Canton Regional semifinal where they will take on Warren District champion Lutheran East. The game will take place at the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse on Wednesday, March 8th, at 8:00pm.
Cardinal Mooney finishes their season at 15-11. The Cardinals were led by junior guard Rocco Turner, who had 17 points (12 of them came in the fourth quarter). Fellow classmate Ashton O’Brien had nine.
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