The Wildcats fought hard, but Friday was not their night.
The evening belonged to Cleveland Heights, and EJ Farmer in particular.
The men of Cam Joyce lost to the Tigers on the road on Friday, 71-50, dropping to 4-2 on the year.
From start to finish, the Wildcats played hard. But Cleveland Heights' advantage on the boards and Farmer's outstanding evening proved too much to overcome. Looking at the stats (provided by Cleveland Heights), the Tigers outrebounded the Wildcats, 36-26, and Farmer led all scorers with 33 points, including six 3-pointers. The Tigers were red-hot all night, hitting 28-of-50 shots from the field (56%). Meanwhile, the Cats shot just 44%.
From the start, the Tigers played phenomenal basketball. The hosts started strong on defense, causing the Wildcats to seem out of sorts early on. Cleveland Heights used strength on the boards to build a 16-8 lead after the first period.
The Tigers continued to play well on both ends in the second stanza. Cleveland Heights' lead grew to as much as 15 points before Saint Ignatius started to grain traction. Danny Nunez helped to trim the deficit to 8 points with a 3-pointer and a layup. The Cats trailed at half, 33-23.
In the third quarter, the Wildcats came out firing on all cylinders. Coach Cam made defensive adjustments, leading to some frustration for the Tigers. The Wildcats started to make up ground, hitting some big shots. Jon Effertz provided a huge shot in the arm, hitting some huge treys. The sophomore converted on a trio of 3-pointers to bring it to a one-possession game. But in what might have been a critical bucket, Heights extended the lead to 5 on a late layup. The Tigers headed into the break with a 50-45 lead.
Yes, J.R. Bremer's men would not be denied on this night. The Tigers played with great fire in the final quarter, and hit seemingly every shot. Farmer took over the game, hitting critical jumpers again and again to deflate the hopes of a comeback. As Bremer said after the game, Farmer is one of the best juniors in the area.
The Wildcats exited Cleveland Heights' gym with a 71-50 loss, dropping to 4-2 on the year. Besides Effertz's 12 points, Nunez also tallied 12. Henry Raynor finished with 9 points, the first time this season he has not hit 20 points.
The Wildcats will learn from this loss, and regroup. The team has a difficult matchup on Tuesday – the annual New Year's Eve game between Saint Ignatius and St. Vincent-St. Mary. The contest has family implications, as Coach Cam will face his father, Coach Dru Joyce. With bragging rights on the line, this 3 pm matinee game should be fun.
The Fighting Irish enter the game as the No. 1 ranked team in the area according to Cleveland.com. The Wildcats moved up to No. 7 after the win over Canton McKinley.
Tickets for the game will be on sale Monday in the Athletic Department from 9 am until 1 pm. All tickets are $6.
A big thank you
The Wildcats thanked Mr. Steve Ehretsman '91 on Friday evening. Ehretsman donated the team's uniforms for the season, a kind gesture. But more importantly, Ehretsman gave the team a pregame speech, touching on playing hard for your coaches, never giving up, and perspective.
Ehretsman has an inspirational story, and the Wildcats were lucky to hear it last night. Thank you to Mr. Ehretsman for coming by last night.
JV Cats fall in double OT, Freshmen Blue earns narrow win
The Wildcats split the first two games of the tripleheader. The JV Cats fell in a double-overtime classic, 61-57. The men of Tom Parker '10 are now 4-1 on the year. They will hit the hardwood vs. St. Vincent-St. Mary at 1 pm on Tuesday.
The Freshmen Blue Cats managed to emerge with a nice win, not needing overtime. The Wildcats sqeezed past Cleveland Heights, 41-38, in another thrilling game. Now 6-1 on the year, the Cats are off until January 2, when the team heads to Toledo to face St. John Jesuit.