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Wildcats Stretch Winning Streak to Three

By Kurt Pickering '21, 01/18/21, 8:45PM EST

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Victories against Chagrin Falls and Cleveland Central Catholic showcase Wildcats' experience

The Wildcats matched up very well against the Chargrin Falls Tigers. Ignatius had a total of five players outsizing Chagrin Falls’ tallest kid. In addition, the Wildcats have played seven more games and had a much more rigorous schedule. On paper, Coach Cam’s boys were expected to pull away with a W, but just recently coming off a four-game losing streak, anything could happen.

The Wildcats came out attacking on all angles. An early full court press and 7-0 run pushed the blue and gold ahead. Senior Henry Raynor and Junior Jon Effertz eached tacked on buckets for the Basketball Cats. The Tigers were held together by four players all averaging over 10 points per game on the year. After mounting a comeback, Effertz hustled hard in defensive transition, came away with a steal, and capped off the sequence with an And-1. A tug of war first quarter left the Blue and Gold up 14-8.

Senior Alex Garcia kept the start of the second quarter quiet for the Tigers. Great defense against Chagrin Falls’ big man Jack McMullen kept the Tigers scoreless until a timeout with 4:30 left in the half. The Wildcats didn’t have any luck on their side either. Only 4 points scored in 8 minutes allowed Chagrin to battle back and cut the lead 18-16. Jon Effertz quickly turned the tables with a corner 3. A slow quarter for each team left scoring to one of the lowest halves all year. A slim 21-18 lead for the Cats left a lot to talk about at the half.

Effertz once again did the usual. A deep trifecta started off the half for the Cats. The parade continued on the next possession with a three from Junior A.J. Fletcher. How about another? The Freshman Phenom C.J. Little found Effertz in the corner. The third straight field goal from behind the arc gave Effertz 19 points early in the second half. Senior Xavier Perez caught the first glimpse of daylight for the Tigers in the third quarter. A triple for him put the game at 30-21. Raynor was feeling it on the next few possessions. A solid 6 straight points for the Hillsdale commit extended the lead for Ignatius. Effertz had a pretty no look behind the back pass to Junior C.J. Yarian. The Wildcat’s efforts sent them on a 11-3 run. Xavier Perez continued to slither inside for the Tigers. Not enough firepower for Chagrin wrapped up the third quarter with a 44-26 deficit to the home team.

A 4-0 run got Coach Barger and the Tigers off on the right foot, but Alex Garcia ended the run early with a nice hook finish and some free throws. Some rebounds and putbacks for C.J. Yarian allowed the Wildcats to grow the lead a bit more. With 6 points on the night for Yarian, the Wildcats were up 52-34. McMullen’s perfect night from the free throw line cut the lead a tad more. The hope crusher, Jon Effertz, dropped in two more threes late in the 4th. A big 12 point game for Henry Raynor and an astounding 25 point performance from Jon Effertz allowed the Cats to pull away for back to back home victories, winning 59-42. Effertz shot 6/7 from the three point land and took his season percentage to 57%.

Following the victory, the Wildcats were back on the road against Cleveland Central Catholic striving to remain on their win streak.

The Wildcats had an absurd amount of experience compared to the Ironmen who were only coming into their first game. Henry Raynor hit a unique three pointer from the corner to start off scoring for the Cats. The Ironmen’s defense held up early, but Coach Cam’s adjustments brought the squad to a 17-1 run. Junior Shondo Green made a huge difference early on with his fair share of rebounds and a few points as well. Two timeouts for CCC were unable to hold the Cats in place. Shondo led the way with 6 points in the first and Alex Garcia closed the quarter with an And-1. A statement quarter for Ignatius put them in the lead 25-3.

The momentum stayed in favor of the blue and gold with a three ball from Effertz and a huge fast break dunk from Raynor. Carter Jackon responded to a reverse layup from CCC’s Savontae Quarles and extended the lead 34-5. C.J. Little capped off the quarter with a smooth layup. Scoring came a bit easier for Central Catholic with a score of 38-9 to finish the half. Yontek and Effertz started scoring for the Cats. Some easy points for the Ironmen sparked a three from Fletcher who extended the lead 51-13. A handful of points from Savontae Quarles was canceled out by Shondo Green answering on each possession following a CCC bucket. Hungry to fight back, Quarles connected on a big And-1 to cut the lead to 57-30. The final possession came up fruitless for Cleveland Central Catholic.

The fourth quarter began with a putback from Senior Nathaniel Rush for the Ironmen. From then on, scoring came in bunches for the Cats. Garcia’s back to back dunks put the Wildcats to a 70-35 lead. The game came to a close with a score of 79-47. That game marked the most points scored all year for the Wildcats and the biggest point differential all year. The big victory took Ignatius to a 3 game win streak and an 8-4 record.

The Basketball Cats will be back on the hardwood on Wednesday the 20th. They will be back at home against the powerhouse of Cleveland Heights. Be sure to tune in on the SIBN!