Coming off an unbelievable victory against the Medina Bees, the Basketball Cats were once again surprised by a sudden matchup against the Brush Arcs. The South Euclid squad has consistently put forth a great team.
Looking to do the same this year, their efforts are much more difficult after losing two star players. Last season’s star center for Brush, John Hugley, has started his freshman run at the University of Pittsburgh and to make the woes even worse, Marlon Barnes transferred to a Ypsi Prep to play with the class of 2022’s best ranked player, Emoni Bates.
As always, the Arcs bring firepower each year and this year the tandem of Tyler Williams and Elmore James presents a promising future for Coach Chet Mason and his senior-less team.
Lately, the Wildcats have been used to these star caliber players. In the season-opener it was Walsh Jesuit’s Erik Stern, and then at Medina it was Corey Tripp. Saint Ignatius Head Coach Cam Joyce knew this third road game to start the season would be a battle--and it sure was.
The Wildcats’ offense has been superb. With senior captain Henry Raynor and junior guard Jonathan Effertz both averaging above 15 points per game, Saint Ignatius is beginning to become one of the most dominant forces in the Cleveland area.
Brush came out aggressive right off the get-go. Coming away with a steal on the first possession led to a kickstart slam by the Arcs’ 6’8” sophomore Tyler Williams. Effertz started off slow, shooting 0-2 from behind the arc before finally knocking down his first triple. Brush’s phenomenal defense restricted the Cats from doing much within the three point arc.
With 4 minutes to go in the first quarter, Elmore James began his offensive showcase taking one in hard for an and-1. Coach Cam made his adjustments, bringing in senior Will Yontek to contain the star junior. On the next trip down the floor, James fired up a triple, which fell and pushed Brush’s lead 8-3.
A strong defensive quarter limited scoring for each team. Right alongside the defensive pressure, fouls stacked for each team.
Yontek attacked the boards late in the quarter with a putback layup to narrow the Arcs’ lead. But with under 5 seconds left, Elmore James bolted down the floor, banking in a contested three point bomb for the buzzer beater. The Wildcats trailed 15-8 after the first.
“I told the guys this would be a much different style,” said Coach Joyce. “We had a size advantage on Medina, but we were not going to have that against [Brush] so we expected a low scoring game.”
Coach Joyce has been remarkable with his adjustments this year and the Wildcats stepped up in the second quarter.
The first points of the quarter were introduced by an excellent dish from Jon Effertz to A.J. Fletcher. With two 6’8 players on the floor for the Arcs, Henry Raynor and junior Shondo Green had their work cut out for them.
The Wildcats trailed by 3 early in the quarter. Effertz helped close the gap with his second 3 of the game in addition to an open layup on back-to-back possessions.
Fortunately, fouls sent the Wildcats into the 1-and-1 bonus, but they shot 3-11 from the line. Sophomore Braydn Szczpaniak played a reverse card on the cold streak, connecting on his two attempts.
Looking to make a final run to close the half, junior C.J. Yarian shifted the momentum with a block leading to another bucket for Szczpaniak. Then Yontek’s defense put the clamps on the Brush big men once again.
Looking for a similar last second shot, freshman C.J. Little set up a play to dump it off to Effertz, who relayed the ball to Yontek for a bucket in the final seconds. At halftime, the boys in blue and gold were still chasing for the lead with the scoreboard lighting up 23-22 in favor of the home team.
After the break, Raynor went to work in the post to take the lead. Holding the Arcs scoreless on yet another possession, senior Mike Mattimore drilled a trifecta and then made a hustle play and won a 50/50 ball to give Raynor another bucket on the fastbreak.
Elmore James nailed his 17th point early in the quarter and the Wildcats continued the matchup between Mattimore against Elmore James. A 7-0 run flipped the game in favor of the boys from Lorain Avenue.
James snatched the lead back from the Cats on a tough baseline take. Heading into the fourth, Brush held a 36-32 lead and Joyce needed one final push to keep his team undefeated.
Taking on a big role guarding Elmore James, Mattimore spoke about his defensive mindset:
“He’s a really great player. He can shoot the ball and drive. He’s got a lot of different things to his game,” said the senior sharpshooter. “My job is just to make it tough on him.”
Mattimore jumped on his role, immediately poking the ball away from the junior star. The Wildcats stayed scoreless with about a minute gone in the final quarter. Jon Effertz scored his 11th point on a great outlet pass to initiate the scoring destined to come.
The Arcs had the advantage in the 1-and-1 right away in the quarter resulting in a perfect trip to line by Elmore James.
All of the sudden a flicker of a soon-to-be-familiar scene came with a trio from A.J. Fletcher to close the gap 39-37.
Mr. Fourth Quarter, A.J. Fletcher, picked off the baseline pass from the Arcs. Jon Effertz answered with a deep three to extend their scoring efforts 44-43. The next time down the floor Fletcher, once again scored, muscling his way in a shot from the foul line.
With a minute left, Saint Ignatius took time off the clock, setting up a play and to finish with a bucket was none other than Fletcher faking his defender out of his shoes with a euro-step lay in over the trees.
With both teams in foul trouble, Elmore James thrived at the line, cutting the Wildcat lead to 48-46. With 30 seconds left, the Arcs looked to force Ignatius to the line. A tough miss at the line followed with a rebound by Henry Raynor earned him his seventh board of the game. Mattimore clutched up at the free throw line and left a 50-46 lead for the Wildcats with 5 seconds left.
Elmore James fired up another contested shot that dropped just a bit too late with a second left and a 50-49 lead for the Cats. An off-ball foul on Will Yontek set up a big free throw chance. The senior captain dropped 1 of 2 to close out a 51-49 Wildcat Winner.
Fletcher’s excellent fourth quarter performance gave him 11 total points in the game, the vast majority of those coming when they were needed most:
“I’m just out there letting the game come to me and just doing my thing,” he said. “I know I have great guys around me that are going to let me do whatever I want and come up big in the fourth.”
As the basketball squad comes more and more together, their record proves the strength behind this year’s team.
“The best thing that I enjoyed is we found a new way to win and we were down tonight and we battled, got some stops down the stretch, made some layups, and some big shots and threes,” said Coach Joyce. “Guys stepped up and that’s what you want to see as a coach...You never know when it is going to be your moment.”
The depth of this roster has proven time and time again the undeniable talent of the team. Two back-to-back statement victories will take the Cats to their next challenge. As of right now, that game is on December 23rd against Richmond Heights at 6 p.m. That will be the first home game for the Cats, so be sure to tune in on the SIBN for that one!