Staff Photo / Neil Madhavan Ursuline senior forward Geno Lucente (1) finds the back of Warren G. Harding's net after Ursuline's district championship victory over NDCL. Lucente led all scorers with 22 points.
WARREN — Before a game this season, there was one thing in the back of Ursuline senior Geno Lucente's mind — his late grandmother, who passed away a few months ago.
“I play for her every game.” Lucente said. “Before every game, I think of her and pray to her.”
With his grandmother in mind, Lucente played one of his best games of the season in Saturday's Division II Northeast 1 regional final as the Ursulines held off Notre Dame and led the Fighting Irish with 22 points. -Latin 61- Warren G. Harding High School, 44 years old.
“She was a big fan of Geno.” Ireland head coach Keith Gunter said of Lucente's grandmother: “When she passed away, I emailed Geno's mom and said we're going to win this district and I'm dedicating it to your family and your mom. She loved watching Geno. It was a lot of fun. He played unbelievably and you can tell she's looking down on him with pride. I'm really glad I was able to stick to what I said.”
It was Ursuline's first district title since 2017 and the last of four consecutive district championships for the Irish.
Ursuline fell just short of the No. 1 seed last year, losing to Gates Mills Gilmore Academy in the district final. But this year, as the No. 2 seed, the Irish were finally able to get over the hump for the first time in seven years.
“There were a couple of times where there was a gap of four or five years. But you know what happened after that gap? We won four in a row from 2013 to 2017.” Gunter said of Ursuline's district championship during his time as coach. “Now I know what I want to do for the next four years.”
Lucente was relentless from the start. Whenever Ursuline needed a basket, especially in the first half, he was there to score.
Lucente made his first three shots in the first half and was 6-of-8 from the floor. Twelve of his 22 points came before halftime.
“My teammates knew I was open and we just kept going in transition for easy buckets.” Lucente said.
However, the Lions were able to maintain an advantage on the glass from the start, leading to second chances. Thanks to that, NDCL was able to bring the situation closer.
At one point in the second quarter, Ursuline had built an 11-point lead, but a Lions run cut the gap to five points by intermission.
“When we went into halftime, we didn't see what we saw last year.” Gunther said. “(Last year) when we tied it up at half-time, I saw their expressions and they were kind of shocked. This time they were five up and positive. , I said all they have to do is be a little smarter. Get the ball to (Geno) and Jaden and let some guys make plays.”
NDCL's Connor Hernan troubled Ursuline with his play in the post, while Jackson Mangeluzzi provided a spark for the Lions with two threes in the first half, scoring 10 points in the first half.
But then Ireland stepped up their defense.
After NDCL scored 16 and 12 points in the first two quarters, the Lions could only muster nine and seven points in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.
Hernan and Mangeluzzi were held scoreless in the second half as Ursuline held the Lions to 31.8 percent shooting after halftime. In this game, NDCL shot just 35.8% from the floor.
“They were dominating man-to-man, so we went to the matchup zone and that stopped the penetration.” Gunther said. “So, they didn't score a lot of points after that, but then we started clearing the glass. The other thing that hurt in the first half was those two big kids clearing the glass behind us. What I was afraid of was that if we went to the zone, there wouldn't be any bodies left on top of them. But in the second half, Even if they missed the shot, I thought Jaden (Payne) just went for it.”
When Ursuline's defense picked up in the second half, Lucente and fellow senior Payne dominated in the post, and the offense picked up as well. Payne scored 11 of his 18 points for Ireland in the second half.
“That's how it should be. Your seniors should be able to guide you.” Gunther said. “I thought Jayden was an incredible guy. He was tough around the basket right up until the end. He got every rebound, blocked shots, changed shots. But Geno tonight I thought he played on another level. His rebounding, his scoring, his leadership — when he dived for loose balls (in the first half), that set the tone for how we were going to play and finish.
“He made so many game-winning plays down the stretch, and that's what we need from our seniors.”
With the district championship in hand, Ursuline now sets its sights on the Division II Northeast Regional next week. The Irish will face Cleveland Villa Angela St. Paul. Joseph will play in the regional semifinals Thursday at 6 p.m. at Canton Memorial Fieldhouse.
“I want to aim for a big leap forward this year, I really think so.” Gunther said. “I think we're in really good shape. I think we have a chance to make some noise throughout the region. And if we can get out of regionals, I feel like we can make some noise in the states as well.”
Do you have any interesting stories? Email Neel Madhavan at nmadhavan@tribtoday.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @NeelMadhavan.
