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Published: Sunday, December 10, 2006

Ursuline's Brown scores 27 as the Irish top Rayen

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In Ursuline's 68-41 win, Rayen (1-3) was led by Bre Boudrey's 15 points.

By CHUCK HOUSTEAU

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

YOUNGSTOWN — Ursuline senior D'Aundray Brown will be performing in large arenas in the future after signing a letter-of-intent to play basketball for Cleveland State University next year.

Brown looked very comfortable playing in such a venue as he scored a game-high 27 points in leading the Irish to a 68-41 victory over Rayen in the second annual Youngstown-Warren Holiday Basketball Classic at the Chevrolet Center Saturday night.

"I love playing in front of a big crowd," Brown said. "I thrive on it so I feel very comfortable playing here at the Chevy Center.

Purpose

"It's always a good atmosphere and a lot of people came out to see us and we didn't want to let them down."

Brown not only scored 27 points, but he grabbed 13 rebounds, dished out five assists had two blocked shots and three steals.

Brown spurred on an Ursuline team that was clearly dominant from the outset but no more so than in the second quarter when the Irish outscored the Tigers 24-2 to open up a 41-17 lead at halftime.

"We went man-to-man in the second quarter and I think we play that defense very well," said Ursuline coach Keith Gunther. "We defended very well in the second quarter.

"We got a lot of stops and a lot of rebounds and we were able to open it up for our shooters."

The Irish (2-0) had plenty of shooters as 10 players broke into the scoring column and Ursuline hit a sizzling 6 of 12 from 3-point land in the first half alone. The Irish finished the game making 10 of 13 from beyond the three-point arc.

Ryan Burton, Nick McCartney, Dale Peterman and Craig Caputo all knocked down 3-pointers along with Brown as the Irish shot shot 50 percent (21-42) from the field after three quarters.

On a roll

"I was pleased with our shooting," Gunther said. "When I found out we were shooting fifty percent at halftime I said, 'Let's keep penetrating, let's keep kickin' it and let's keep shooting it.

"Fortunately we were able to knock down shots tonight."

Brown scored seven points and Burton added six in the third period as Ursuline outscored Rayen 19-15 in the quarter to open up a 60-31 lead.

"We keep things team-oriented around here," Brown said. "Everyone played well tonight and we were able to come out with a win."

Ursuline also was strong on the boards as they outrebounded the Tigers 36-30.

Defense, however, is the Irish's game and they had plenty of it for Rayen after a first quarter that saw the teams battle to a 17-14 score in favor of Ursuline.

"They definitely clamped down on us defensively in the second period and that was the difference," said Rayen coach Jason McCray. "They also hit a lot of shots and we just weren't able to stop all of their scorers."

Ursuline got eight points from Burton, Caputo and McCartney.

Rayen (1-3) was led in scoring by Bre Boudrey, who nailed five 3-pointers for 15 points. Kenny Carter chipped in with eight points and six rebounds.

Sunday, December 10, 2006