“Defense wins games.” The old saying couldn’t have been more true in this case, as the Saint Ignatius Freshman Blue basketball team pulled out a win in what most basketball fans will call a “nail biter” against rival St. Edward, 53-47.

The game was back in forth all along, with both teams trading baskets and the lead frequently.  

It was a game that, just like the previous the one beforehand with the freshman gold team, would start with St. Edward jumping out to a commanding start, in this case a 7-0 run.  

But, once again, the Cats did get rattled, keeping the game under control with an 8-0 run to make the score 8-7 at the end of the first.

And from there, for the rest of the half, the contest was defined by its runs, becoming a back-and-forth ballgame. The scoring picked up in the 2nd quarter, leaving the halftime score knotted at 24.

The second half was more of the same, though the defensive intensity picked up. This defensive mindset for both sides was shown perfectly when it took a whole 3 minutes for either side to finally score a point once the second half got underway. The full court pressure affected both sides as well, with the turnover count beginning to skyrocket.

Early on in the 4th quarter, the Cats began to extend their lead. A couple of Erik Daugenti threes helped to push the lead to 7 and the Cats never looked back.  

The Eagles had their chances at a comeback, but no push was hard enough to break this Wildcat defense. The pressure put on by the Wildcats helped push their lead towards the end, leading to a 53-47 win over their cross town rival.

The Freshmen Blue squad helped to end off an already great day for Wildcats basketball in Sullivan Gym, with two wins against St. Edward. Both Saint Ignatius freshmen teams look on the upswing heading into their next contests.

The Freshmen Blue team’s next matchup will be with LeBron James’ alma mater, St. Vincent-St. Mary, at Sullivan Gym this Wednesday, with tipoff scheduled for 5:30 p.m.