By Eddie Dwyer
Cleveland Heights, Ohio - Their team-first approach on offense, combined with a passionate effort on defense, are the enjoyable-to-watch trademarks of Coach Brian Becker's 2017-18 Saint Ignatius Wildcats Varsity Basketball Team.
While those are attributes every coach on every level strives for, Coach Becker and his outstanding staff are also blessed with young men of character and resolve.
That was never more evident than on Thursday night, when the Wildcats, coming off their first home loss since the 2014-15 season, took command of the final 7 minutes and went on to defeat a highly regarded Cleveland Heights team, 79-69, in the Tigers' new atmosphere-rich gymnasium and school.
With supportive and knowledgeable fans from both schools and those familiar neutral area gym rats savoring every second, Saint Ignatius' strong, skilled and tireless senior posts Aymin Bahhur and Dom DiNunzio combined on a basket that saw Aymin score off a text-book assist from Dom. That effort put the 'Cats in front, 60-58, early in the fourth quarter.
Saint Ignatius' ability to move without the ball, which is something Coach Becker instills in all of his players, would draw a smile from the late Basketball Hall of Fame Coach Red Holzman, whose great New York Knicks teams were masters at it. Red was named one of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA history.
Cleveland Heights, which took its sparkling home floor on a brisk Thursday night with a 3-0 record and a ninth-place ranking in Cleveland.com's seven-county area poll, knotted the score at 60 off two free throws by its imposing 6-foot-5 senior post Tyreke Smith. Smith is one of the most coveted football recruits in the Midwest.
At that point, 7 minutes and 7 seconds remaining to be exact, the area's 12th-ranked and now 3-1 Wildcats began to play Becker Ball.
With sophomore point guard Tevin Jackson directing the offense with his selfless and skillful style, senior guard Neeko Melendez burying his move-without-the-ball, smooth-as-silk 3-pointers, senior guard Jon Barnes playing with his impactful presence at both ends of the floor, and those ever-present post/forwards - Bahhur, DiNunzio and fellow seniors Luke Wiskes and Josh Ozanne - hitting the glass and going after every second-chance possession with a passion that starts in practice, the Wildcats closed the show on Cedar and Lee in style.
After a kiss-the-sky trey by Melendez, one of his four in the second half and five on the night, an authoritative baseline drive by Bahhur, a layup by DiNunzio off a perfect dish from Jackson, a soft pull-up jumper in the lane by Melendez and a breakaway layup by Barnes, Saint Ignatius led, 71-62, with 4:30 left in the fourth quarter.
Following two clutch free throws by Wiskes with 2:16 remaining, Cleveland Heights would close to six points off the sixth 3-pointer on the night by its gifted senior guard Yahel Hill. Hill led all scorers with 30 points.
The game belonged to the young men from Cleveland's Jesuit Preparatory School, however, as the Wildcats sealed the deal on two free throws by Jackson off a 1-and-1 situation and two more points in the paint from DiNunzio courtesy of another on the money assist from Wiskes.
Dom not only made his presence felt on offense, but also did an outstanding job defending Smith down low, limiting him to 8 points on the night. Smith had his way in the paint against the Tigers' other opponents.
Barnes led the Wildcats with 21 points, including two 3-pointers, and helped Saint Ignatius to a one-point halftime lead by scoring 16 of those points in the first 16 minutes. Melendez finished with 19 points, DiNunzio had 15 points and 7 rebounds with 9 of his points coming in the first half, and Bahurr finished with a very key 10 points.
With Wiskes contributing five momentum-changing rebounds and, as always, hustling from baseline to baseline, the 'Cats won the battle of the boards, 29-21. The turnovers were even at 15 apiece and with Jackson totaling 6 assists and Melendez 4, Saint Ignatius had 19 assists to the Tigers' 6.
The Wildcats' numbers for assists, rebounds and turnovers were courtesy of Saint Ignatius' outstanding senior Team Manager and two-year Varsity Football Letterman as a linebacker/defensive lineman, Gabriel Liberatore.
FROM JON BARNES: "Every day in practice Coach Becker always emphasizes defense. We hang our hat on defense and the offense comes along with it. Our defense is our offense. We tried to contain Yahel (Hill) as much as we could, but he's a great player. The key was containing his supporting cast. Dom DiNunzio did a great job of that.
"After that game (Tuesday's setback at home to Cornerstone Christian) we really didn't look back on it much," Jon continued. "It was one of those days where we didn't play as well as we wanted to. We used that loss as motivation and it really showed tonight."
FROM WILDCATS HALL OF FAME COACH BRIAN BECKER '77, WHOSE TEAM'S DEMANDING THREE GAMES IN FIVE NIGHTS STRETCH WRAPS UP SATURDAY ON THE ROAD AGAINST THE CURRENTLY UNDEFEATED AND THIRD-RANKED SOLON COMETS: "I thought Jon Barnes played a great game tonight. We asked him to do a lot, but he worked really, really hard. I also thought Tevin Jackson gave us a nice game. He had a solid floor game and that helps our team overall. When Tevin's making good decisions, delivering the basketball on point, making free throws and 3-balls, good things will happen for our team.
"Dom and Aymin inside, it's almost un-describable how hard they work in the post, how well they communicate with other team members and how well they do high-low," said Coach Becker after he picked up his 340th career victory and his school-best 326th triumph at his alma mater. "We got a lot of easy hoops tonight because Dom and Aymin are very unselfish. You have to try to take one of their (the Tigers) main guys away and here is their second-best guy, Smith, with only eight points. Hill is just that good. You have to start guarding him walking into the gym."
FOR A PREVIEW ON SATURDAY NIGHT'S GAME AT SOLON, SEE THIS CORNER'S STORY FROM THURSDAY MORNING. THE ACTION BEGINS OUT ON INWOOD ROAD WITH A JUNIOR VARSITY MATCHUP AT 6 PM, FOLLOWED BY THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED VARSITY GAME AT 7:30.
THE JUNIOR VARSITY BASKETBALL WILDCATS REMAIN PERFECT
****A tip of this corner's many sports caps goes out to the Junior Varsity Basketball Wildcats, who improved to 4-0 with a 56-44 victory over Cleveland Heights' Jayvees on Thursday night.
Under the direction of veteran coaches Chris Salata '94 and Brian McLaughlin '94, the JV 'Cats received a 14-point night from sophomore post/forward Michael McNamara. Michael scored 12 of those points in the decisive second half. He hurt the Tigers' Jayvees with his inside presence, his jump shot and his ability to run the floor.
Michael is also a standout in the Wildcats' highly successful baseball program under veteran Head Coach and Assistant Athletic Director Mr. Brad Ganor, and is a very promising linebacker/running back in Saint Ignatius' state and nationally acclaimed football program under the direction of Hall of Fame Head Coach Chuck Kyle '69.
The JV 'Cats also benefitted from eight-point performances by sophomore guards Rory McConville and Jack Whelan. Rory tossed in two 3-pointers and Jack contributed at the other end of the floor with an athletic defensive play that saw him turn away what looked like a sure fast-break layup for the Tigers.
Sophomore guard/forward Erik Daugenti impressed this corner with his all-out hustle, perimeter shooting and crisp passing, and sophomore guard Sean Armen helped turn away the Tigers down the stretch with a couple of key baskets. This corner was privileged to cover Erik's brothers during my 10 years with Saint Ignatius and was also impressed this past fall with Erik's passing receiving skills on the gridiron.
Have a wonderful Christmas on Campus today (Friday) and we will see you at Solon High School on Saturday night for another area hoops headliner.