Staff photo / Neel Madhavan Chaney’s Asuante Mickel (1) finishes at the rim over Cleveland John F. Kennedy’s Teroz Peoples during Friday’s Division III sectional final at Chaney High School.

YOUNGSTOWN — With the way the Chaney boys basketball team plays defense, there’s only one way to describe what the Cowboys put opposing teams through on a nightly basis.

It’s 32 minutes of hell.

Cleveland John F. Kennedy found that out the hard way on Friday night, as Chaney ran the Fighting Eagles off the floor 77-34 in a Division III, Northeast 4, sectional final.

After a sluggish first six minutes, the two teams combined to score just eight points, but the Cowboys ended the first quarter on a 14-2 run. By the end of the period, Chaney led JFK 19-5, and the Cowboys just pulled away from there.

“I think both teams had a little bit of butterflies because they know each and every game could be our last game. But once we settled in, we were fine,” Chaney coach Marlon McGaughy said. “We did a really good job for a while. But after a while, we got a little lackadaisical and started taking fast shots.”

From the opening tip, Chaney did to JFK what it has done to teams throughout the season.

The Cowboys use their speed and length to pressure and trap the ball in the front court. That often leads to the ball handler losing the ball or an errant pass. Chaney then pounces on those loose balls and quickly turns those turnovers into fast breaks and easy baskets.

“We got guys everywhere,” McGaughy said. “So we make sure that we get in passing lanes, make sure we box out and our quickness just gives a lot of people trouble.”

Chaney’s defensive intensity is hard to scout and prepare for because it’s almost impossible for opponents to replicate it in practice. It’s why the state-ranked Cowboys sit at 19-3, and it’s why they’re the No. 2 seed in their region and expected to make a deep run in the Division III bracket.

“I just think we’ve got more depth. We can do 11 deep, so we try to tire teams out a little bit. It’s working for us,” McGaughy said. “Sometimes you might have some off nights on offense. But you shouldn’t have off nights on defense. So I think that’s what gives us an edge on a lot of other teams. They can’t do both.”

Chaney’s defense starts in the front court with junior guards Austin Brown and Asuante Mickel. Against the Fighting Eagles, Brown finished with a game-high 22 points, while Mickel had 15.

“They’ve been starting since they were freshmen, so they understand our system,” McGaughy said.

The two combine to pressure the ball, while either Dewayne Thompson, Keith Franklin or Michael Howell tries to pressure the other guards off the ball and take away the ball handler’s passing lanes. Franklin finished with 12 points off the bench against JFK.

“They take a lot of other teams’ guards out of the way,” McGaughy said. “They’ll make easy passes, so it’s hard to get to those big guys.”

Should opposing teams get past the Cowboys’ guards, senior 6-foot-5 forwards Allex and Allen Hill are waiting in the post. With their size, they affect shots or block them outright.

More often than not, one of them gets a rebound and they immediately throw an outlet pass to one of the guards, who’s sprinting up the court in transition to get a quick run out. The Hill twins combined for 20 points on Friday.

“They’re so long,” McGaughy said. “We tell the guards, ‘If they get past you, run them into our bigs,’ because nine out of 10 times, they’re going to get a block.”

Adam Cade was JFK’s lone double-figure scorer, finishing with 16 points. No one else had more than five points, as the Cowboys limited the Fighting Eagles to 30.2% shooting.

Friday’s win advances Chaney back into the district semifinals next week. The Cowboys will face the winner of No. 26 seed Lutheran West and No. 38 seed Cleveland John Hay on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at a site still to be determined.

“We just have to be consistent like we’ve been all year,” McGaughy said. “We just want to make sure we treat each and every game like it’s going to be our last game.”