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JV Wildcats right the ship; soundly defeat Cathedral Prep 65-32

By Ryan Grabowski ‘18, 01/07/18, 11:30AM EST

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For the first time this season, Coach Salata and his JV Wildcats looked to right the ship with a comeback victory vs. Cathedral Prep after a heartbreaking loss to St. Vincent-St. Mary.

After a dominating victory over Canton McKinley and pulling off an overtime victory over Warren Harding to start off their holiday break, the JV Wildcats took their first loss of the season on New Year’s Eve in The Lebron James Arena. The Wildcats finished off their holiday break and kicked off their 2018 slate of games with an outstanding victory in snow filled Erie PA, where they defeated Cathedral Prep, 65-32.

The JV Wildcats did not wait to get going, as an early deep three from Nunez and a strong finish from Hanna got the Wildcat offense going.

SIBN broadcaster Zack Strom mentioned during his broadcast that the Wildcats offense had been a little off in their last two games, only scoring 50 points in both contests. Last night in Erie was a chance for the Wildcats to fire back up the offense and they did not disappoint.

Cathedral Prep knocked down its first two 3-pointers to start of their night to keep up with the Wildcats in the early minutes. The Wildcats' first unit started hot but a slow second unit kept the Saint Ignatius lead limited to 17-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

After letting the Ramblers get back into the game towards the end of the first quarter, the Wildcats went on a 9-0 run early in the second quarter to take a quick 27-12 lead. Hanna continued his solid play, leading the team with 15 of the Wildcats' 30 points with some time remaining in the first half. After three quick steals from Nunez, Whelan, and McConville, the Wildcats earned six easy points at the end of the first half to give the Wildcats a more than solid 38-19 lead.

The Wildcats forced 14 Rambler turnovers in the first half, while controlling the ball exceptionally well all night. The Wildcats only turned the ball over 3 times in the first two quarters of play. By the end of the night, the Wildcats forced 25 turnovers on the Ramblers.

Hanna continued his hot night by knocking down his first three of the second half, as the Wildcats rolled through the third quarter to a 53-27 lead.

Even with a 29-point lead with two minutes to play in the game, the Wildcats continued their full-court pressure, which they have applied all season.  

It was another scoring night for the whole team, as every active player on the bench scored in the dominating 65-32 win. Hanna led the way with a season-high 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting with two 3-pointers. The JV cats were back in dominating form just as they were to start off the season.

JV will be back on the floor at the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center on the campus of John Carroll University in beautiful University Heights, Ohio, as Westerville South will make the trip from Columbus for a JV/Varsity doubleheader on Saturday. JV is set to begin at 6 pm, followed by varsity action at 7:30 pm. 

To follow action for the rest of the basketball season, and all other athletics - make sure to follow @SIHSsports on Twitter and Snapchat and @SIHSathletics on Instagram.