By Eddie Dwyer

 

 Ohio City - From Hall of Fame Head Coach Brian Becker'77 and his entire basketball savvy staff, the postgame evaluation was unanimous.

 

 Defense, my friends, is why the Saint Ignatius Wildcats will take a 5-2 record into Sunday's traditional New Year's Eve afternoon matchup with the Fighting Irish of St. Vincent-St. Mary at 3:30 PM in the atmosphere-rich LeBron James Arena.

 

 "We played very good defense tonight," said Coach Becker after his Varsity 'Cats limited visiting Warren G. Harding to 20 points in the first half and 17 points over the final 16 minutes on a frigid and snowy Wednesday night in the best location in the nation.

 

 "I thought our help defense was good and I thought our on-ball defense for the most part was really good," Coach Becker continued, "We're going to have to be a good defending team. Some nights we put it in the basket, and some nights we don't. We've got to find ways to become better scorers. We're getting good looks, getting opportunities, but the ball is just not going in the basket for some guys.

 

 "It's a long season and hopefully that will change, but you can always hang your hat on defense. "If you come out and are consistent defensively, you are going to be in games. Then it's a matter of execution down the stretch."

 

 Although the Wildcats' shooting percentage on Wednesday night wasn't quite up to the standards Coach Becker and his staff would like to see - a 44 percent field goal percentage and 35 percent on 3-point attempts - it was enough to complement a defense that laid it all out from the get-go.

 

 After multi-skilled senior forward Luke Wiskes buried two early 3-pointers and fluid senior guard Jon Barnes hit an in-rhythm trey, Saint Ignatius led, 11-6, with 4 minutes and 33 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.

 

 Harding, which is now 2-3 on the young season, went on a little 5-0 run and knotted the score at 11 courtesy of a 3-pointer by senior guard Trivell Trimble.

 

 Just when the Raider faithful had visions of a nail biter, the Wildcats took their defensive intensity up a notch and went on to the first of their decisive moments - a 12-0 run.

 

 After a strong move down low by senior forward Aymin Bahhur and a smooth 3-pointer along the baseline from senior guard/forward Josh Ozanne, Saint Ignatius took a 16-11 lead into the second quarter.

 

 The 12-0 run continued with a 3-pointer courtesy of the floor general, aka sophomore point guard Tevin Jackson, two free throws by senior guard Neeko Melendez off a technical foul, and a driving one-hander by Melendez that had Harding Head Coach Andy Vlajkovich calling for a timeout with 6:24 left in the first half.

 

 Harding would slow the Wildcats' momentum briefly by creating two quick baskets. Saint Ignatius had the answer again, however, as they stretched their lead to 30-15 off another 3-pointer from Barnes, a Wiskes moving without the ball basket off a Barnes assist and two free throws from Ozanne.

 

 The Raiders, who were coming off an impressive victory over Austintown Fitch, made it a 12-point game late in the first half. Coach Becker's 'Cats responded with two more free throws by Ozanne, who was fouled while heading for the basket off a transition assist from Barnes.

 

 Saint Ignatius took a 32-20 lead into the halftime break after Harding's junior point guard Dom McGhee did "like the Navy" and sank two free throws. Only the real old gym rats will remember that chant. 

 

 "Josh Ozanne gave us some really good minutes," said Coach Becker. "Certainly, I thought this was one of Luke Wiskes' better games. He was pretty solid, inside and outside, and made a couple of threes. Going down to St V (St. Vincent-St. Mary) will be a big challenge, they're a good team on their floor. We have to play better offensively than we did tonight, but you know, I'll take a defensive effort like this. We held this team to under 40 points and now we'll build on it."

 

 With senior forward Dom DiNunzio doing his usual strong work off the glass, the Wildcats rode another 3-pointer by Jackson and a rebound and quick outlet pass from DINunzio that hit the fast-breaking Barnes in stride for a layup and a 37-22 lead with 3:46 to go in the third quarter.

 

 Harding would close to 12 points off the strength of a 3-pointer by senior guard Chris Hughes late in the third quarter, only to watch Saint Ignatius take total command on a driving one-hander high off the glass by promising sophomore guard Chase Toppin, a reverse layup along the baseline by Bahhur that drew some smiles from the coaching staff, a quick and authoritative move to the basket by Ozanne, and a determined one-hander down the lane by junior guard Lukas Bielek.

 

 The 'Cats left their fans, young and seasoned, roaring with approval after Wiskes, again moving without the ball, soared in the air, caught a perfectly timed inbounds pass from Barnes and slammed home two more points. Saint Ignatius' bench was also celebrating after DiNunzio broke free for a trip to Slam City that this corner will officially describe as "The Dom Dunk."

 

 Wiskes led the Wildcats with 13 points, Barnes had a solid line of 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and a superb defensive job on Hughes, and Ozanne contributed nine big points. Saint Ignatius' defense forced 25 turnovers, limited the Raiders to a 25 percent shooting night on 3-point attempts and a field goal percentage of 34.

 

 FROM LUKE WISKES: "I thought we did a better job of pressuring the ball tonight," said Luke. "A couple of times we missed the angles with their guards going down hill, but overall we stepped up and closed out well.

 

 "We're getting the shots, but we have to limit the turnovers," Luke continued in reference to the 'Cats' offense. "We forget that this was only the second game with our full team. We're still learning to play together. Practice is one thing, but game time is different."