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The Saint Ignatius Basketball Wildcats will attempt to create another special memory when they take on longtime West Side rival St. Edward on Saturday night in Father Sullivan Gymnasium

By Eddie Dwyer, 01/17/18, 8:30AM EST

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 By Eddie Dwyer
 
 The 7-2 Wildcats, riding a four-game winning streak and a seventh-place ranking in cleveland.com's Top 25 seven-county area poll, will face University School on Friday evening in Sullivan Gymnasium and then focus their attention on Saturday night and what is one of the premier high school rivalries in the nation - Saint Ignatius versus St. Edward! 
 
 Please note that Friday's Varsity tip off with the 4-7 Preppers from University School will be 6 PM and will be preceded by a Junior Varsity matchup with the Preppers at 4:30 PM. The JV Cats will take an 8-1 record into this weekend's action.
 
 Saturday night's annual January encounter with St. Edward will start with a 5:30 PM Junior Varsity Game, followed by the area's Varsity headliner at 7 PM.
 
 The Eagles will make the short trip from Lakewood carrying an 11-3 record, a second-place ranking by cleveland.com and a 12th-place ranking in the Associated Press Division I State Poll. St. Edward's Jayvees stood 10-2 entering Wednesday night's JV game versus Erie (Pa.) Cathedral Prep.       
 
 Below is a corner's view of the St. Edward and University School Varsity games, as Hall of Fame Head Coach Brian Becker '77 looks for his 'Cats to add two more chapters to the storied history of Father Sullivan Gymnasium. Ah yes, the good old days of the West Senate when more than one rival coach swore that Angels must have been hanging on the rims in the fourth quarter at Sullivan Gym.
 
From the end of Tuesday's practice in the grand facility that has witnessed some of Cleveland's greatest high school basketball memories.
 
Ohio City - With his team huddled around him at midcourt, Coach Becker looked at each and everyone of his Wildcats and said, "It is up to you guys to make the memory."
 
 You could have heard a pin drop.
 
 "Nobody remembers days, they remember moments," said Coach Becker, whose Basketball 'Cats won both regular-season encounters with St. Edward last year in overtime thrillers, 90-80 in Father Sullivan Gymnasium and 75-72 on St. Edward's Coach Jim Connors Court in The Eagles' Nest.
 
 "As far as basketball goes, if you're a senior, or if you're involved in our program, the St. Eds games are big moments," Coach Becker continued. "Win or lose, people remember those moments. To me, it's not about win or lose, it's about the effort that you give. If you give a good effort, you can be proud."
 
 Coach Becker had defeated his friend and colleague, St. Edward's outstanding Head Coach Eric Flannery, four consecutive times before the Eagles stunned the Wildcats with a 19-point victory in the Strongsville District Championship game last March.
 
 "We'll focus on coming out Saturday night and playing to our strengths and hopefully taking away some of their strengths," Coach Becker said. "But to me, the game will be about handling the basketball. It's going to be an up and down the court game, and there is going to be a big crowd (an expected sell out).
 
"They play really, really good defense and they are aggressive defenders," Coach Becker said of  Coach Flannery's Eagles. "They apply great weak side help and offensively they can get on a roll. Flannery's made 5 or 6 three-balls in multiple games, Chambers has made 5 or 6 three-balls in multiple games, Blanton is a strong kid and Foster and Terry are extremely quick. Everything goes through them."
 
 Coach Becker was referring to Coach Flannery's son, 6-foot-3 senior forward P.J. Flannery, 6-8 senior post/forward Emmett Chambers, 6-5 sophomore forward Devontae Blanton, 6-2 sophomore Montorie Foster (the Eagles' primary ball handler) and 6-1 junior guard Demetrius "Meechie" Terry. Terry is described by Wildcats savvy Assistant Coach Jerry Porath as "a great athlete."
 
 P.J. Flannery and Chambers left a lasting impression on this old gym rat when they were just freshmen.
 
 Coach Becker then referred to the young man who, as just a freshman last year, was the difference maker in the Eagles' impressive District-Final victory over the 'Cats.
 
 "He handles it really well, he passes it extremely well, he just knows the game so well," Coach Becker said of 6-4 sophomore guard Grant Huffman. "That kid is an overall weapon."
 
 Huffman, who has now played in four games after injuring his ankle in St. Edward's season-opening victory over the Lakewood Rangers, drew one emphatic line from Coach Porath - "He does everything well."
 
 Among those contributing off Coach Flannery's bench are 6-4 senior forward Elliott Tirbaso and 6-0 senior Richie White.
 
 "Flan (Coach Flannery) gets them ready and year in and year out they're a proven winner and he's a proven winner (as Coach Becker is)," said Coach Becker. "It will be a good basketball game that comes down to who handles the pressure situations and who takes care of the basketball. It should be fun."     
 
 While Mother Nature has sidelined the Wildcats since their solid victory at Erie (Pa.) Cathedral Prep on January 6, St. Edward is coming off a game they would just as soon forget, a 59-45 loss last weekend to Toledo St. John's Jesuit in St. John's Titan Dome. You always remember the night you played the Titans. 
 
 St. John's Jesuit is the No. 1-ranked big-school program in the Toledo area by the outstanding high school staff at The Toledo Blade and the Titans are currently ranked fourth in the AP Division I State Poll.
 
 AT A GLANCE, THE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL PREPPERS
 
 Coach Sean McDonnell's University School Preppers stood 2-2 before losing two consecutive games, 100-56 to the young and talented Cougars from Lake Catholic and a 66-51 setback at the hands of the Kenston Bombers.
 
 University School bounced back with two victories, including a December 29th, 68-61 triumph at Eastlake North. North went on a 14-2 run in the early stages of the second quarter and held a seven-point lead. It was a tale of two halves, however, as University School went strong to the boards over the final 16 minutes and put forth the defensive effort Coach McDonnell stresses. John Nestor's 14 points and 13 points from O'Mahn Dobbins helped show the way for University School.
 
 The Preppers hit another downward hill, as they traveled to Painesville to face then 2-6 Riverside and were turned back by the Beavers, 64-59. University School faced a 22-14 deficit after the first eight minutes and was outscored, 17-11, in the fourth quarter.
 
 In their most recent game, the Preppers were defeated by Padua Franciscan, 72-59, at the home of the Bruins.
 
 Saint Ignatius had its way with University School last season, especially when it came to beating pressure and transition offense. The 'Cats were rock steady in the 90-54, clear-the-bench victory.
 
 FROM COACH BECKER: "University School is a good game for us. I think playing good, local and well-coached teams is a positive thing for the Saint Ignatius community. Certainly for our East Side kids it's a nice game, playing against some of their buddies.
 
"Sean McDonnell does a really good job of coaching over there. His kids will come in and play hard. They will play up-tempo and Sean will put a variety of defenses on us. We are going to have to be at the top of our game.
 
 "University School is not the team we played last year, they're an improved program. I think they use us as a measuring stick. If we come out and defend and do what we're capable of doing, we should be okay."
 
 SIBN!:  If you can't make it out to Saturday's game versus St. Edward or are unable to secure a ticket, the Saint Ignatius Broadcasting Network, headed by "The Dean," Matt MacKenzie, will bring it to you live.
 
 A MUCH-DESERVED THANK YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS GOES OUT TO SENIOR GABRIEL LIBERATORE, WHO WAS RECENTLY SELECTED AS ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE SCOUT TEAM PLAYERS FOR THE 2017 VARSITY FOOTBALL WILDCATS.
 
 GABE IS A VITAL PART OF COACH BECKER'S STAFF, NOT ONLY AS A TEAM MANAGER, BUT ALSO AS THE MAN WHO PROVIDES THE POST-GAME STATISTICS FOR THE BASKETBALL 'CATS. GABE WILL BE STRONGLY MISSED NEXT SCHOOL YEAR, BOTH ON THE GRIDIRON AND THE BASKETBALL COURT.
 
 ****In closing, this seasoned reporter would like to send out my congratulations to St. John's Jesuit Head Coach Ed Heintschel, who won his 700th career game in the Titans' 14-point triumph over St. Edward last weekend. Ed has put together a remarkable 39-year career with St. John's Jesuit.  
 
 Always the epitome of class, Ed displayed nothing but kindness and respect to this reporter during my long career at The Plain Dealer. Ed brought many of his Titans teams to Father Sullivan Gymnasium for matchups with the Wildcats and this corner also had the privilege to cover and report on Ed's teams at the State Final Four level.
 
 Again, congrats to one of the very best Ohio High School Basketball has ever produced.