From the OHSAA Division I Strongsville High School District
The third-seeded Wildcats of Hall of Fame Head Coach Brian Becker '77, after turning away the upset-minded and seventh-seeded Battling Bees from Medina, will now focus all of their energy on the game they wanted from the moment the OHSAA announced the Strongsville Sectional/District pairings on February 11th.
In what will be Saint Ignatius' third encounter on the hardwood this season with longtime West Side rival St. Edward, the now 16-6 Wildcats and the 21-3 and top-seeded Eagles will tipoff for the Strongsville District Championship on Saturday at 7 PM in Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center.
St. Edward, the seven-county area's top-ranked team by cleveland.com and the defending Strongsville District Champion, won both of this winter's regular-season encounters with the Wildcats, 74-62 at Father Sullivan Gymnasium on January 20th and 85-67 on February 9th in The Eagles' Nest.
Coach Becker's 'Cats will be looking to turn the tables on St. Edward, just as the Eagles did last year when, after losing two overtime regular-season thrillers to Saint Ignatius, Coach Eric Flannery's team pulled off a 19-point victory over Saint Ignatius in the Strongsville District Championship Game at Strongsville High School.
Saturday night will mark the second time in three seasons that the Wildcats and the Eagles have played for the Strongsville District Championship at The Wolstein Center. In March of 2016, Saint Ignatius, after splitting its regular-season games with St. Edward, ended the Eagles' season by eliminating them in the District Championship Game at the home of the CSU Vikings.
HERE IS A CORNER'S VIEW OF HOW COACH BECKER'S CATS SET UP ANOTHER CHAPTER IN THE STORIED ATHLETIC RIVALRY THAT IS SAINT IGNATIUS VERSUS ST. EDWARD.
The Wildcats 58, the Battling Bees of Medina 55
Not even one of Mother Nature's late winter curves could keep the gym rats from packing the atmosphere-rich basketball facility at Strongsville High School on Thursdaynight.
In what was one of the more will-testing, down-to-the-last-play District Semifinal Games ever played out on Lunn Road, the Wildcats extended their winning streak to six games.
Coach Chris Hassinger's Battling Bees, who stunned the experts by eliminating archrival Brunswick in last weekend's Sectional Final at second-seeded Brunswick, found themselves trailing Saint Ignatius by one point late in the first half.
The Wildcats turned to multi-skilled senior forward Josh Ozanne and Josh's five consecutive points, including a steal and a layup for a three-point play, had Saint Ignatius in front by six points with just 12.3 seconds left in the first 16 minutes.
Medina would cut the deficit to 30-26 entering the halftime break after Battling Bees senior guard Dylan Fultz beat the buzzer with a driving 1-hander.
Labeled the area's "Little David" after advancing to the District Semifinals with an 8-16 record, Medina made it a two-point game early in the second half off a strong offensive rebound and put back by 6-foot-7 senior post Tyler Kaminski.
Saint Ignatius' gifted senior forward Luke Wiskes would respond with a 3-ponter, but the Wildcats were whistled for basket interference off a Battling Bees shot.
Trailing by three points, Medina would take a one-point lead off two free throws that were followed by a backdoor layup by freshman guard Corey Tripp off an on-the-money assist from Kaminski.
With Coach Becker and his savvy assistants urging their offense on, senior guard Neeko Melendez buried one of his kiss-the-sky 3-pointers and Wiskes, who led the 'Cats with 14 points, increased his team's advantage to 38-34 with an authoritative driving 1-hander high off the glass. Neeko was an All-Northeast Lakes District Honoree this season.
Medina still had some magic left in its postseason run, however, as sophomore guard Kyle Szumski buried a smooth jumper in the lane and Kaminski knotted the score at 38 with another strong post move.
After Ozanne again dialed long distance for a trey and Fultz answered with a smooth jumper, Saint Ignatius clung to a 1-point lead entering the final eight minutes.
"It was a crazy game for us, there wasn't much flow offensively," said Coach Becker. "So we have to find our flow going into the Eds game. Give Medina credit, I thought they changed their defenses pretty consistently and kept us off balance."
The faithful from both sides could be heard out on Lunn Road throughout a fourth quarter that saw the Wildcats, sparked by a 3-pointer by All-Northeast Lakes District senior guard Jon Barnes, a strong baseline move by senior forward/post Aymin Bahhur, another basket by Barnes off one of his trademark spinning 1-handers in the lane, and a thundering put back by Wiskes, move to a 51-43 lead and force Medina to call a timeout with 3:44 remaining to be played.
The Battling Bees, who were seeking a school-best fifth consecutive appearance in a District championship game, closed to 51-47 with 51.1 seconds left courtesy of baskets from Kaminski and Szumski.
Saint Ignatius' standout sophomore guard Chase Toppin would sandwich a driving move off the dribble and two free throws around two free throws by Medina's Tripp, but a three-point play from the ever-present Szumski cut the deficit to three points with 25.4 seconds remaining.
Less than two seconds later, Wiskes would send home two clutch free throws and the 'Cats led, 57-52.
In the final 13.9 seconds, Szumski buried a deep 3-pointer from beyond the top of the circle, Saint Ignatius' sophomore point guard Tevin Jackson made 1 of 2 free throws and what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer by Medina rimmed out.
"The Szumski kid had 19 points (a game high) and hit some big shots down the stretch," Coach Becker said. "He got in the seams and did really well. The big guy, Kaminski, we did a pretty good job on him and held him to just 10 points. But we need to execute better down the stretch and make some free throws.
"St. Eds beat us pretty soundly two times, so that should give us some motivation going into Saturday night," Coach Becker continued. "Certainly, St. Eds is a different animal that is playing really well right now. We're comfortable with what they do, we just have to come with a great effort, have our minds right and go out and have fun on a wide-open court. There should be a great crowd on hand."
Coach Becker pointed to how pleased he was with Ozanne's all-around game on Thursday night, the hustle and determination of Bahhur and the solid minutes turned in by Wiskes.
BY THE NUMBERS: Along with Wiskes' 14-point night, the Wildcats got 10-point efforts from Ozanne and Barnes. Saint Ignatius won the battle of the boards, 26-23, and both teams turned the ball over 11 times.
The final free-throw totals from Saint Ignatius' gifted senior Stats Man, Team Manager and Varsity Football linebacker/defensive lineman and Special Teams MVP Gabe Liberatore '18 showed the Wildcats being 9-of-16 from the Charity Stripe. The Battling Bees made 6 of their 7 opportunities from the line and both teams totaled five 3-pointers.
GOD BLESS AND GO ICE CATS FROM THE OLD GUY WHO USED TO STAND ON THE TOP ROW IN "THE BIG BARN ON MEMPHIS" BEHIND THE SAINT IGNATIUS BENCH AND REPORT ON YOUR PROGRAM'S MANY, MANY SUCCESSFUL MOMENTS.
Have a great Friday, stay warm and safe, and we will see you on Saturday night on the storied court inside the Wolstein Center.