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Round Two Goes to the Wildcats in Overtime in Lakewood

By Brendan DeVenney, 02/11/17, 8:00AM EST

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Fans shouldn’t be expecting anything else other than a thrilling finish when the Wildcats and St. Edward Eagles do battle on the hardwood.

For the second time this season, Saint Ignatius and St. Edward had to go to overtime to decide a winner in another jampacked gymnasium, this time in the Eagles’ Coach Jim Connors Court. However, it did not look anything like the first meeting between these two schools.

The result mirrored that of the first game, though, as the Wildcats emerged with a 75-72 victory.

Both teams brought the defensive pressure early on, even though it was Matt Davet and Tommy Schmock providing the bulk of the offense early for their respective squads. Down the stretch of the first quarter, St. Edward started to get going, thanks to Tommy Schmock.

Schmock really took over in the first half. He went on a tear in the first quarter with 12 points, matching his total in the first game vs. Saint Ignatius, shooting 2-for-4 from behind the arc after the first period. He helped the Eagles go on a 13-2 run to stretch the lead out to 23-15 at the end of the first quarter. William Henry, who finished the night with 7 points, beat the buzzer to make it an 8-point lead heading to the second quarter.

Jack Sullivan, who also was catching fire from behind the arc, started the second quarter off right for the Eagles, burying a trey to extend the lead for St. Edward. Then, Tommy Schmock hit his third three of the night with 6:04 remaining in the second, increasing the lead to 29-17 St. Edward and giving him 15 points.

Saint Ignatius did not shoot the three very well in the first half, shooting just 25% from behind the arc. Barnes, however, did hit a big triple that was crucial with 3:40 left in the half, cutting the lead to six, 32-26 Eagles. Luke Wiskes then cleaned up a missed free throw, laying it in off the glass to cut the lead to four, 32-28, with 3:15 to play.

But that would be the closest Saint Ignatius would get in the first half, as William Henry drilled a three-ball with 0.6 on the clock, defying the odds to set the score at 37-30 St. Edward at the half.

After the 15-point outburst by Schmock in the first half, the senior was held to just three points in the second half. For the Wildcats, Davet was once again having a solid night, heading into the locker room with 13 points. Spear had an impressive 7.

In the all important second half, the Wildcats hung around by a thread. The Wildcats outscored the Eagles in the third quarter, 20-18, to pull to within five, 55-50. Saint Ignatius narrowed the deficit to five multiple times in the second half, but St. Edward seemed to always come back with a big shot by Sullivan or Emmett Chambers, who fouled out in the fourth quarter.

However, fast forward to three and a half minutes remaining in the game. Devin Jackson hit a critical three-point shot to cut the lead to six, 61-55. Following that big shot, Austen Yarian converted on an and-1 opportunity to cut the lead to three, 61-58 with just over three minutes remaining.

On the next possession, it was the Hillsdale College recruit once again cutting the lead to just one-point, 61-60.

The Wildcats’ big forward then came up in the clutch again, forcing overtime at the free throw line with 47.4 seconds remaining, tied at 65-65. St. Edward had multiple chances to win the game in the closing seconds, but the Wildcats’ potent defense stopped that from happening.

For a time, it appeared as if the overtime period would be similar to the overtime period back in January between the Eagles and Wildcats. Michael Spear gave the Wildcats their first lead since 9-8 in the first quarter with a rebound putback off the glass with 3:37 to play, making it 67-65 Saint Ignatius.

The Wildcats lead stretched to 69-65, and stayed that way for over two minutes before freshman Grant Huffman of St. Edward, who finished with 13 points, converted on a 3-point play to cut the lead to one, 69-68, with 1:28 remaining.

Then Tommy Schmock tied the game with 1:00 left, going 1-for-2 from the charity stripe. Soon after, Schmock gave the Eagles the lead back for the first time since regulation, connecting on a 3-ball with 25.2 remaining.

But it was Yarian stayed cool, calm, and collected. The senior backed down his opponent in the post, driving and giving the Wildcats the lead with 17 seconds left to play at 73-72. St. Edward missed a potential game-winning shot and would come out on the short end. Matt Davet hit two game-clinching free throws with 1.4 seconds left to play, and the Wildcats walked away with a 75-72 overtime win over the Eagles.

Saint Ignatius takes the regular season series over St. Edward with two overtime wins, 90-80 on January 13 in Sullivan Gym, and 75-72 Friday night on Coach Jim Connors Court. It is the first time since 1998-2000 and 2000-2001 that the Wildcats have defeated the Eagles four straight times in basketball. Mr. Brian Becker ‘77 served as the head coach back then as well, leading the Wildcats to the program’s first state title in 2001.

It is also the first win at the Eagles’ Nest since 2013 when the Francisco Santiago-led Wildcats defeated the Eagles, 71-67.

Down the stretch, the Wildcats looked to Austen Yarian, who had multiple momentum shifting shots to keep cutting into the Eagles lead in the fourth quarter and overtime. He finished with 23 points, connecting on 10-for-16 from the field. He also was clutch on defense with 3 blocks, 2 steals, and 9 defensive rebounds.

Head Coach Brian Becker ‘77: “Austen is very versatile. He can guard a bunch of different guys. He can guard guys inside, he can guard guys outside. His length disrupts good ball handlers. We’re looking at their best players and looking to get Austen in a situation where, ‘Look, I’m going to challenge you. Go out and stop this kid.’ I think Schmock got the best of him in the first half, but I thought Austen got the best of Schmock in the second half.”

On the huge, long comeback: “We’ve been a pretty good defensive team all year long. I think our length poses some problems. Barnes off the bench gives us a different type of defender, a long range rebounding type of guy. We didn’t make many shots, we did most of the damage inside tonight. But we got to hang our hat on defense, defense is going to win us games in the tournament.

“It’s a great rivalry. Another overtime game with St. Ed’s, it’s becoming ho-hum. But that’s how high school basketball should be played.”

Overall, Matt Davet had another 30-plus point performance with 31 points, shooting 10-for-14 from the field, and going 10-for-12 from the charity stripe. Averaging 23.2 points per game on the year, Davet continues to impress.

For St. Edward, Tommy Schmock finished as their leading scorer with 24 points, shooting 52%. Grant Huffman contributed 13 points, and Emmett Chambers and Kelvin Calhoun both had 10.

The huge win for the Wildcats could clinch the No. 1 seed in the District Tournament come Sunday when the seeds and brackets are released for the 2017 OHSAA Division 1 Boys Basketball Tournament. The Wildcats do have one more game to play though Saturday night inside Sullivan Gymnasium when they take on the Solon Comets, who enter at 13-5 after an 84-81 win over Euclid on Friday night.