Staff photo / Brian Yauger Quincy Jones of Chaney finishes off a dunk in the Cowboys’ 63-55 win over Ursuline on Friday night.

YOUNGSTOWN — The Chaney Cowboys have battled shutdowns and an incredibly tough schedule this season, and it closed out its penultimate week of regular season play with a gritty victory.

The Cowboys earned a 63-55 win over crosstown rival Ursuline to remain unbeaten in the Steel Valley Conference.

“We’re starting to play now,” Cowboys coach Marlon McGaughy said. “We were down for a month, twice, so we started getting a bit better. We played last night, so we’ve got tired legs today. We’ve got four games in five nights.”

To call the Cowboys’ schedule this season a challenge may be an understatement. The team’s 8-6 record may not impress at first glance, but Chaney has taken some of the best teams in northeast Ohio, including Medina, Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary and Massillon Jackson.

McGaughy thinks that type of competition has only benefited the Cowboys.

Staff photo / Brian Yauger Tyler Beck, center left, of Ursuline battles for a rebound as Chaney’s Cameron Lawrence reaches in to try and knock it away.

“That’s why we played a tough schedule,” McGaughy said. “Because a lot of teams that play not as tough of a schedule as ours, when it comes down to the nitty gritty, we’re able to pull games out that they might not be able to pull out.”

That success in key moments came from the team’s high-flying offense. Sharrod Taylor led the Cowboys with 21 points. Point guard Cam Lawrence tacked on 17 and Quincy Jones added 12.

If there’s a knock McGaughy has for his team, it’s that they rely on offense too much and aren’t doing enough of the little things on the defensive side of the ball.

“It happens too often,” McGaughy said. “We’re one of the bigger teams in the area, and we keep getting outrebounded nightly because we depend on our athleticism. We don’t do those small things like box out like all the other teams do.”

Despite not having their leading scorer in Terrance Pankey, Ursuline threw everything it could at the Cowboys. Brady Shannon led the Fighting Irish with a game-high 23 points.

“I thought we played tough,” Fighting Irish coach Keith Gunther said. “I thought our effort was there, I just didn’t think the smartness and having good composure was totally there. I feel like with us battling them like that and Terrance Pankey being out, makes me feel real good about the tournament.”

Given how they handled themselves against Chaney while being shorthanded, Gunther feels confident in his team going forward.

“I just feel really good about the way we played tonight and whether my kids want to say it or not, because they’re not happy about losing, but I know they can play with anybody now,” he said. “If we can play with them, we know we can play with anybody.”

While not dismissing the loss, Gunther can’t help but see the benefits of a game like this not only for the 2020-21 season, but seeing the youth perform well has him excited at the potential for the future as well.

Staff photo / Brian Yauger Ursuline’s Brady Shannon tries to shake the defense of Cameron Lawrence of Chaney. Shannon finished with a game-high 23 points for the Fighting Irish.

“Some people get upset about wins and losses, I think wins and losses are a part of it, but when you’re young and we were out there battling, it makes me feel good the way they were competing,” Gunther said. “If we can continue to compete like that with our upperclassmen and get Terrance back, only positive things can happen for us in the future.”

The Cowboys close out the season next week with two games against Cardinal Mooney on Thursday and Saturday, but before that, on Monday, Chaney takes on Mentor. They open their tournament run against West Geauga in the Northeast 2 district.

Ursuline (12-7) is on the other side of the bracket in the Northeast 1 district and will host the winner of Ravenna and Canfield in the sectional bracket final.

Up next, the Fighting Irish will play Boardman on Friday, if they’re unable to find a team to replace Bristol, which was set for Tuesday.