Still yet to play at home, the Wildcat basketball continues its strong start to the new season. Originally scheduled to play a game on Tuesday against Elyria Catholic, the Cats were still preparing for a good contest.
Those plans were derailed on Friday by a 24-hour notice that brought them not only a cancelled game against Elyria Catholic, but a game scheduled for Saturday against the Medina Bees.
Medina athletics have been extremely successful in the past years with a soccer team competing at the high level and a football team with one of the brightest futures out of Ohio teams. On the hardwood, the Bees are led by Coach Hassinger and have been a highly competitive program. Producing big names in the past years like Jon Teske, a Michigan alumnus and now NBA player for the Orlando Magic, as well as Kyle Szumski, last year's GCC Player of The Year.
Both Saint Ignatius and Medina were coming into this contest 1-0; only one would emerge undefeated.
Traveling to Medina is a tough challenge as they have such a strong fanbase. Their faith lies in senior star Corey Tripp. Coming off a 28-point game, Tripp was hunting for more against an outstanding Wildcat squad.
The versatile Wildcats started the 1st quarter strong with a 3-ball from junior guard Jon Effertz. Coming off the season-opener win against Walsh Jesuit, Effertz led the team in deep balls with four made. Not one but two 3s pushed the Wildcat lead to eight points early on.
Effertz credited his success on shooting to consistency, saying, “It starts with my bigs, my other teammates are always looking for me which helps. Before the game, it is always form shooting, so I don’t get tired, but keep my shot feeling good.”
After the Bees clawed back into a three-point lead, Wildcats Head Coach Cam Joyce was looking to adjust with the fast paced offense.
Tripp’s quick 6 points went hand in hand with phenomenal defense by Medina’s Jujuan Jackson. The adjustment came with Saint Ignatius freshman Calvin Little. The speedy guard cut down turnovers, passed efficiently, and most importantly, played defense in transition.
With all the focus on Tripp, Drew Hensley came in, knocking down a 3 and a quick bucket on back-to-back possessions.
Heading into the second quarter the Wildcats trailed by one point. It was a necessity to win the second quarter and the boys from Lorain Avenue did just that. Little dominated in transition, beating the Bees at their own game scoring at the rim once and at the free throw line twice.
Henry Raynor came in with a lot of big man play. A very physical Medina team forced Raynor to work for his points. He had four in the quarter. His co-captain, Will Yontek, fought hard on the rebounding end and took a trip to the line as well.
Jon Effertz sank another shot from behind the arc. The sharpshooter was a problem for the Bees’ defense. Sophomore Braydn Szczepaniak got inside for a bucket as well to push the Wildcats ahead.
Coach Cam continued to harp on defense and it paid off as they held the Battling Bees to 13 points in the second quarter. Most importantly, they locked up Tripp and only allowed the southern squad to the line once.
Heading into the half, the Wildcats led 28-26.
“We knew we had to control them,” Joyce said. “They play really really fast and they do some things defensively that we aren’t going to see from a lot of teams, how hard they play, the switching, they really do a good job of communicating.” It took the Cats a lot to stay focused and see through their play.
Going into the second half, Joyce asked his players to limit some turnovers and not give up many threes.
On the offensive end, the Wildcat big men dominated the third quarter. Raynor had six points in the paint, creating chances off of mismatches. Effertz has taken a new role of bringing the ball up the court for the squad and help from the bigs has been a huge contribution to his success:
“It’s a huge help from my teammates,” he says. “We like a lot of ball screens and it helps us. Also, when I get stuck, them helping me helps us come together.”
Raynor wasn’t the only big man doing work. Shondo Green came into the game matching the physicality of Medina, adding a bucket to the total. The 6’8” junior C.J. Yarian displayed his skill set, splashing two 3s for the Wildcats.
It was a quiet third quarter for Corey Tripp, but the silent assassin, Tre Hammond came up big with two trifectas alongside a Medina triple. With all the focus on Tripp, Medina’s senior big Christian Howard scored 3 points in the third.
With the Wildcats holding a 48-42 lead heading into the final quarter, the game was far from over.
The offensive output was critical for the Wildcats in the third quarter because the Bees matched the Wildcats’ play in the fourth. Three different players hit threes for Medina. Jujan Jackson, Bryce Beech, and Brandon Geschke all helped narrow the Wildcats lead.
The star of the fourth quarter, however, was none other than Corey Tripp. He demonstrated the mid range game to its best. Coach Joyce had his defense tightly guarding him, but Tripp’s consistency was above par even when contested.
His play went much deeper than his lethal jumper as he made his way into the paint scoring with defenders draped all over him. He went to the line once and scored nine in the quarter as a whole.
The Bees were forced to pick their poison, and they chose the free throw line. Early foul trouble hurt Medina gravely. Five trips to the line resulted in six points.
Medina, hungry for a victory, closed their deficit to four at 55-51 with 4:02 remaining.
Another Bees push closed the gap completely with a tie at 59 and only 58 seconds left. After the Wildcats eked out a two-point lead, 61-59, the game fell in the hands of Corey Tripp at the free throw line.
Missing the first of his two free throws made the game an unquestionable win for the Wildcats. Tripp’s 21 point effort was not enough for the Medina Bees, who fell 62-60 after a closing trip to the line for the Cats. That win takes Saint Ignatius to a 2-0 start on the year.
“Corey is a great player and we need to make him work. He is a good player and whatever college he goes to will be getting a great point guard,” said Coach Cam about Tripp.
The victory was a credit to the team as a whole on both sides of the ball. The Wildcats had a total of seven steals, featuring Carter Jackson, Will Yontek, and Calvin Little all with great defensive outings.
Calvin Little came up clutch with more points off the bench. He finished the game with 11 points and is starting to solidify his role on the team.
Raynor was clutch both offensively and defensively with a blocked shot and a remarkable 17 points. Effertz’s 16 points summarized back to back great games for him and eight total 3s on the year, chasing his record of 37 from last year. Eight different Wildcats scored and Coach Cam is showing the depth of this year’s squad.
The Wildcats are slated to visit Brush on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Check out the SIBN for full coverage!