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Basketball Cats Fend Off Lutheran East With Strong 4th Quarter

By Eddie Dwyer, 12/10/17, 9:15AM EST

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The relentless rebounding of senior forwards/posts Dom DiNunzio, Luke Wiskes and Aymin Bahhur, the scoring of senior guard Neeko Melendez, Bahhur, Wiskes and junior guard Lukas Bielek, combined with the floor generalship of sophomore point guard Tevin Jackson, showed the way to the Varsity Basketball 'Cats' 51-40 victory over Lutheran East in Saturday night's Home Opener at storied Fr. Sullivan Gymnasium

 

Ohio City - In a calm, but passionate manner, Saint Ignatius' strong and basketball savvy senior forward/post Dom DiNunzio talked about the ties that bind the 2017-18 Varsity Wildcats.

 "When teams are constantly going to the glass and pressuring us, the first thing we have to do is make sure we secure the ball," Dom said. "And that starts with defensive rebounds. That was part of our game plan coming into tonight, making sure we controlled the glass.

 "Another thing Coach Becker talked about was offensive rebounding," Dom continued in reference to Saint Ignatius' Hall of Fame Head Coach Brian Becker '77. "If we can get to the offensive glass and secure another possession, the opposing team won't have a chance to get out and run the floor."

 On a snowy Saturday night in Cleveland, it was mission accomplished for DiNunzio and the rest of Coach Becker's glass cleaners, as the Wildcats, fueled by Dom's game-high 13 rebounds, rode a significant 38-19 rebounding advantage to a well-earned 51-40 victory over the fast-break minded and athletic Falcons from Lutheran East.

 Saint Ignatius, ranked 12th in Cleveland.com's preseason seven-county area poll, improved to 2-0 and on Monday will begin gearing up for a three games in five days stretch that starts Tuesday night versus Cornerstone Christian in Sullivan Gymnasium. Tuesday's 7 PM Varsity tipoff will be preceded by a 5:30 PM Junior Varsity game with Cornerstone Christian.

 The 'Cats' challenging week will continue on Thursday night with a trip to Cleveland Heights' new atmosphere-rich gymnasium to face the legendary Tigers of Cedar and Lee, and then it is a Saturday night ride down 1-480 to take on the currently 3-0 and third-ranked Solon Comets, who have scored more than 90 points in each of those three triumphs. As always, this old gym rat will preview all of this coming week's matchups, starting with Cornerstone Christian, and will provide Varsity game coverage on all three.

 As for Lutheran East, the Falcons, ranked 19th in preseason, are now 2-2. They were also defeated by 14th-ranked Maple Heights, 68-48, in Wednesday afternoon's game at Quicken Loans Arena.  Under the OHSAA's new competitive balance system, Lutheran East is classified as a Division III program this season after winning Ohio's Division IV State Championship last March.   In completing a Saturday sweep that included Freshmen Gold and Junior Varsity victories over Lutheran East, the Varsity 'Cats came out with a relentless inside/outside presence that featured two impressive slam dunks by gifted senior forward/post Luke Wiskes and the scoring of smooth senior guard Neeko Melendez. The result was a 16-10 lead after the first eight minutes.

 Lutheran East, which was also crowned Ohio's Division IV state champion in March of 2005 (see the corner's game preview from December 6), tied the score at 16 on 3-pointers from freshman guard/forward EJ Farmer and senior guard/forward Dominic Braswell. It was game on.

 Coach Becker's 'Cats answered with a layup by ever-present senior forward/post Aymin Bahhur off an assist from junior guard Lukas Bielek and Falcons' tireless senior forward/guard Jordan Burge knotted the score again off an authoritative one-handed drive to the rim.

 After a rainbow, kiss the rim 3-pointer from the endless hustling Bielek put Saint Ignatius in front, 21-19, Braswell gave Lutheran East a one-point advantage with another trey.

 The faithful in Sullivan Gym could be heard out on Lorain Avenue, however, after Bahhur beat the buzzer with a layup that put the Wildcats in front, 23-22, at the halftime break.

 "One thing that I think makes us special this year is our team chemistry," said DiNunzio. "The six seniors have been playing together all four years. We're all really good friends and the bond we have with each other allows us to communicate on the floor very well. We pick each other up when we're down and we like to convey that message to the younger kids on the team."

  Playing team basketball at both ends of the floor, Saint Ignatius struck with two quick baskets courtesy of Melendez and Wiskes, and Lutheran East, down by five points, was calling for a timeout early in the third quarter.

 Four clutch free throws from Wiskes helped the Wildcats maintain a five-point lead with 4 minutes and 11 seconds remaining in the third quarter, but the strong play of Burge and junior forward Samuel Johnson enabled the Falcons to tie the score at 34 entering the final eight minutes.

 After a deep 3-pointer from the baseline by Farmer evened things up again at 37 and brought the Lutheran East faithful to their feet, Saint Ignatius, displaying the chemistry DiNunzio referred to, settled the issue on an ice-in-his veins 3-pointer from Melendez, a huge 3-point play by Bahhur off Aymin's second-effort offensive rebound, and the down the stretch scoring of the unflappable Bielek.

 Melendez and Burge tied for game scoring honors with 14-point efforts, Bahhur finished with 12 points, Wiskes totaled 10 points and nine rebounds, and Bielek had eight game-changing points. Braswell complemented Burge with nine long-range points.

 FROM COACH BECKER: "They obviously saved us a lot of possessions," said Coach Becker of the rebounding efforts of DiNunzio, Wiskes and Bahhur. "They're relentless, throwbacks to the time when there was no 3-point shot. They are really coming along. 'Z' (Cavaliers Hall of Famer and great post player Zydrunas Ilgauskas) and Kevin (former Wildcats standout Kevin Neitzel) really do an outstanding job with them. Luke (Wiskes) really took it to the basket and that is something I like to see out of him.

 "I asked Neeko to do a lot tonight and he made some big baskets and big plays," Coach Becker continued. "Lukas Bielek came in and gave us some real solid minutes. Overall, a good game. They're playing hard, and that is definitely a good thing."

  IN CLOSING, THIS CORNER WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE JUNIOR VARSITY COACHES CHRIS SALATA AND BRIAN MCLAUGHLIN ON THEIR 2-0 START. THIRTEEN PLAYERS SCORED FOR THE WILDCATS' JAYVEES IN SATURDAY EVENING'S 73-44 VICTORY OVER THE JV PROGRAM FROM LUTHERAN EAST.

 ALSO, A TIP OF MY MANY CAPS GOES OUT TO FRESHMEN GOLD COACHES TOM PARKER AND KYLE WISE, WHOSE 'CATS ALSO STAND 2-0 AFTER DEFEATING LUTHERAN EAST'S FRESHMEN, 61-39. JP TIJANICH, WHO DID AN EXCELLENT JOB AS A QUARTERBACK FOR COACH RODNEY GALLAWAY'S ALWAYS SOUND AND SOLID FRESHMEN FOOTBALL PROGRAM, HAD A 17-POINT AFTERNOON THAT INCLUDED A 3-FOR-3 EFFORT ON 3-POINTERS.

 Have a wonderful Sunday and we will see you at Fr. Sullivan Gym, Cleveland Heights and Solon, three of my homes away from home in my Plain Dealer decades and now one of them my home again for the last 10 years. Speaking of Solon, I will always remember the kindness shown to me by the Best of the Best, Nick Camino.