CLEVELAND, Oh - The Saint Ignatius Basketball team had quite the weekend to kick off their Christmas break. The Wildcats gave everything they had in two highly anticipated matchups and played an instant classic in the state's capital. 

Head Basketball Coach Cam Joyce and his squad started in the nightcap of the Ohio Play-By-Play Classic in Woodling Gymnasium on the Cleveland State University campus. They had a tall task with the Richmond Heights Spartans, the two-time defending Division IV champions, a team where four of their starters have offers to play high-major college basketball. 

The Spartans flexed their muscles early, running to an 8-2 lead, emphasized by five-star T.J. Crumble's two-handed slam. Reece Robinson, who put up a third consecutive double-double, scored three straight, but the Spartans scored seven straight to push the lead to double digits. After some back-and-forth buckets, Dorian Jones took over, connecting on back-to-back three-pointers, making the Spartan lead 26-11 after the first. 

Richmond Heights stayed hot out of the break, pushing the lead to 21 points with two more Jones trifectas. A Damon Friery baseline drive and dunk, coupled with a Sam Springer transition-and-one, sparked some momentum, but Demarris Winters hit another three to stop the bleeding. 

Sean Martin, filling in for the injured Jack Zapolnik, went three for three at the free throw line and two transition layups got the Wildcats back in the game. Richmond Heights responded with five straight points, driving the lead back to 15, but in the waning seconds of the quarter, Springer hit the first Wildcat three of the half, making it 45-33 at the break. 

Friery hit a deep three right out of the blocks to start the third and Springer had a putback layup, but the Spartans rattled off two buckets to restore the double-digit lead. Springer's second three of the game and a Robinson dunk cut the lead to six, but out of the timeout, Richmond Heights went on a lengthy run, putting the lead back to 13 points. The teams continued to trade baskets for the remainder of the penultimate period, with the score being 58-46 in the Spartans' favor to end the frame. 

Quinn Woidke, who came into the final quarter with one point, scored the Wildcats' first seven points of the quarter, chipping the lead down to six. Woidke added another tough layup and answered a Spartan make with a transition layup to cap off his personal 11-3 run. A free throw and Jones' dunk made it a seven-point game and both teams hit a pair of free throws to make the score 66-59 with two minutes to go. 

Jones had two fastbreak buckets and Robinson threw down a monster dunk before Friery hit a huge three to cut the lead to six. The teams traded turnovers before Martin was fouled and made the layup, but could not convert the free throw. The Spartans missed both free throws and Matt Ellis hit a stepback three-pointer to push the lead one for Richmond Heights, but ultimately, the Spartans iced the game with free throws and steals, handing Saint Ignatius their first loss of the campaign. 

COLUMBUS, Oh - Just under 24 hours later, the Wildcats were back in action, this time at Capital University in Columbus for a primetime matchup with the undefeated Reynoldsburg Raiders. Both teams were evenly matched throughout the game, with no lead growing to more than eight points and we saw one of the greatest endings in Saint Ignatius history. 

The Wildcats hit five consecutive free throws to start the game, setting the trend of fouls that played a massive part in the game. Noah Smith hit two straight shots to push the Raiders ahead and a Jordan Fisher layup and free throws made it a five-point game. Kalli Johnson made a contested runner in the lane and Toby Nwokolo scored four straight for Reynoldsburg. Mike Lamirand made a tough runner through traffic to end the first quarter with the score 15-13 in the Raiders' favor. 

The teams traded free throws to start the second frame, and Matt Ellis hit a corner three to tie the game. Woidke and Ellis then converted on back-to-back layups for the lead and the Raiders responded with two of their own. Woidke and Nwokolo traded free throws and a Robinson putback pushed the lead to three. 

Jordie Bowens with an and-one but missed the free throw and the Raider defense left Zapolnik wide open on the other end of the court and he canned a three. Robinson met Nwokolo at the rim and blocked his dunk attempt, allowing Ellis to have a fastbreak layup, making it a six-point Wildcat advantage. Ellis netted yet another layup, and the teams continued to trade baskets. The Cats were up eight with a minute to go in the half, but a Raider run cut the lead to 38-34 at halftime. 

The lead remained four for the first two minutes, and Friery's free throws pushed it to six, but Nwokolo responded with two free throws and a putback to bring the lead to two. The lead grew to five, but the tides began to turn as Reynoldsburg was able to rip off a 9-0 run, giving them the lead back. 

A huge Zapolnik three stopped the bleeding, but Xavier Mckinney hit a contested corner three to make the lead five. Johnson collected his miss and put it back in and Springer hit two free throws to end the quarter, the score 55-54. 

After trading baskets to begin the fourth, Robinson nailed two free throws to tie the game, and Johnson made another runner through contact to take the lead. The game was tied on a Damon Griffin and-one, but Zapolnik hit a finger roll for the lead back and Woidke knocked down a long three-ball to give more cushion. 

Yet another and-one, this time by Fisher, was followed by a Johnson free throw and Nwokolo making a transition layup. Fisher and Friery exchanged singular free throws and Woidke hit an off-balanced floater to make it a five-point lead. Griffin hit a crucial wing three-ball to cut the lead to two, Martin intercepted a pass and Fisher was fouled in transition. He made both, giving the Raiders a 75-74 lead. 

Woidke was fouled and split a pair, tying the game. Robinson had one of his signature putbacks to give the Cats a lead, but Fisher hit a highly contested mid-range jumper to tie the game with under 10 seconds. Ellis made a three-pointer on the other end, but a travel was called on Ellis' pump fake, sending the game to overtime. 

At this point, four Wildcat starters had four fouls to their name, and two of the Raiders were also one away from a foul-out, creating even more tension. Robinson struck first in the fifth period with a drive to the hoop and lay-in but fouled out seconds later while stopping a fastbreak. 

Fisher made both free throws, tying the game up. Both teams missed layups, but the Raiders were sent back to the free throw line, where Fisher would again do both. It was Springer's turn for some clutch free throws after a Bowens foul and he would go two-for-two, restoring the tie. 

McKinney both made scoop layups to make the score 83-83. This is where the chaos began, as with only 30 seconds to go, Reynoldsburg was holding for the last shot when Lamirand stole the ball and passed it to Zapolnik, who had a seemingly wide-open layup that McKinney blocked out of bounds. During the inbound, Friery and Fisher both went down, and a double foul was called, giving both players their fifth and sending them out of the ball game. Reynoldsburg blocked a Lamirand shot and nearly made the halfcourt heave for the win, but instead, there was more basketball to play. 

The Raiders got on the board first in the second overtime with a putback by Bowens, and they extended the lead to four with two McKinney free throws, which also saw Johnson pick up his fifth foul. Ellis stopped the streak with two free throw makes and Zapolnik followed with a steal and finger roll to tie the game. 

Nwokolo then connected on an and-one layup and free throw, sending Zapolnik to the bench with his fifth foul. Griffin fouled Woidke, ending his night, but the junior missed both free throws. Lamirand then committed his fifth foul of the night on Bowens, being the fifth Wildcat to foul out. 

Bowens made both from the stripe, pushing the lead to five with 1:30 to go. Woidke missed a layup and Springer fouled to stop the clock, making him the sixth player to reach the limit. Zy'Aire Weaver split the pair, giving a score of 93-87. Once again, Woidke was fouled and went perfect from the line, cutting the lead to four. Smith was fouled for the Raiders and split a pair from the line and Woidke responded by nailing both foul shots again to shrink the lead to 94-91. 

Smith and Bowens visited the line after a pair of Saint Ignatius fouls and went one for two. On the other end, Woidke threw up a desperation heave from beyond the arc that dropped, making it a two-point game. Bowens missed the back half of his free throws and AJ Haddox hauled in the rebound and threw an outlet pass to Ellis, who stopped, popped a three-pointer, made it for the tie and was fouled in the process, sending the crowd into pandemonium with three seconds remaining.

Ellis canned his free throw, giving the Cats an improbable lead they held onto after Nwokolo's three-pointer rattled off the rim and the Wildcats stormed the floor in celebration in what was an early candidate for Game of the Year as the Cats won 98-97. 

The Cats return to Sullivan Gym on Saturday to host Maple Heights at 2 p.m. After this matchup, the Cats will travel to Tampa, Florida, to compete in the Cookie Garcia Jesuit Invitational at Tampa Jesuit High School.