Sports

Ursuline, Canfield, Cardinal Mooney and Warren JFK boys teams to play for regional titles

By Mike Brown
Ursuline boys basketball players celebrate their district title
Ursuline boys basketball players celebrate their district title Mahoning Valley Sports

They’re in the Sweet 16.

Four Mahoning Valley-area boys’ basketball teams have punched their tickets to regional action slated this week across northeastern Ohio.

The four include Youngstown Ursuline and Canfield in Division II, Youngstown Cardinal Mooney in Division III and Warren JFK in the Division IV ranks.

Ursuline, which finished first in the final mahoningmatters.com boys’ basketball poll, rolled through the district last week, posting one-sided wins over the Streetsboro Rockets 64-35 in the district semifinal and 61-44 over NDCL in the district title game last weekend.

The Irish (22-3) will play VASJ (18-7) in a D2 regional semifinal Thursday night at 6 p.m. at the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse.

Canfield

Also punching its ticket to the Canton Fieldhouse D2 Regional is Canfield, which won the All-American Conference title this winter under head coach John Cullen and, like Ursuline, posted two impressive wins in district play last week.

Canfield (22-4) whipped Northwest 66-47 in its district semifinal game and followed that with a 64-53 triumph over the Cleveland Glenville Tarblooders in the district championship contest last Saturday.

Canfield, which has won 13 straight games, will play Warrensville Heights (18-6) in a D2 regional semifinal Thursday night at 8 p.m. in the second half of the regional doubleheader at the Canton Fieldhouse. The other regional semifinal that night will match Ursuline and VASJ in the early game at 6 p.m. The semifinal winners advance to the regional championship, with a trip to the state tourney on the line, Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Canton Fieldhouse.

Cardinal Mooney

In Division III, Youngstown Cardinal Mooney has rolled through the tournament to reach the regional.

How impressive have the Cardinals been? Consider this: In this district semifinal romp over Mapleton, Mooney posted a 50-point (82-32) running clock rout of the Mounties, a team that had won 16 games this season. Mooney then won a district crown last weekend after rolling to an 84-59 win over the South Range Raiders.

Mooney (21-5) is penciled in to play Canton Central Catholic (18-7) in a D3 regional semifinal set Wednesday evening at 8 p.m. at the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse. The first game that evening will pit Lutheran East against Fairview at 6 p.m. The semifinal winners will play for a regional championship and state trip Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Canton Fieldhouse.

Warren JFK

In the small school Division IV ranks, Warren JFK has also been on a tournament roll heading into regional play.

The Eagles (19-6) blasted Hillsdale 81-49 in a D4 district semifinal last week and rolled to a district crown in its 76-39 romp over the Heartland Christian Lions last weekend.

JFK will play the Dalton Bulldogs (16-9) in a D4 regional semifinal Tuesday night at 8 p.m. at the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse. The other regional semifinal there on Tuesday night will match Attica Seneca East vs. Richmond Heights at 6 p.m. The semifinal winners from Tuesday will play for a regional title and a trip to the state tournament Friday at 7 p.m. at the Canton Fieldhouse.

Read Next

Sign up for Mahoning Matters newsletters


Keep up with our daily Mahoning Matters news coverage of the Mahoning Valley, Ohio, Pennsylvania, the U.S. and world. Sign up here for our newsletters.

Donate to our Journalism Impact Fund


In collaboration with the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, we've created the Mahoning Matters Journalism Impact Fund – an innovative and community-centered approach to funding local journalism. To make a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation to the Mahoning Matters Journalism Impact Fund visit CFMV’s donation page.