Cardinal Mooney survives, moves on to regional final

It was absolute mayhem Tuesday night at Cardinal Mooney High School as the Cougars won another nail-biter, 64-61, against Calvary Christian to keep the season alive.

Senior big-man Mitch Arimura had a career game with 21 points, and future Louisville guard Ryan McMahon hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with under a minute remaining.

With 4:09 remaining in the fourth quarter, Cardinal Mooney found itself down five, 55-49.

“We’ve had ups and downs. We’ve been through everything together,” Arimura said. “I looked at the clock, we got into a huddle and I said ‘guys, we have plenty of time left.’”

McMahon, who is known for his shooting, had six assists in the game and made several clutch passes down the stretch to get teammates open looks.

Cardinal Mooney coach Stefan Gates said McMahon is an all-around player that has just about everything in his arsenal.

The Cougars will play again Friday in a regional title game at First Baptist Academy in Naples.