MASSILLON – Saint Ignatius varsity basketball coach Sean O’Toole and his staff had no issues with the Wildcats’ effort on defense Saturday night.
As far as the offense is concerned, well, it wasn’t like the growing pains weren’t expected.
The Wildcats, putting together a defensive-fueled surge in the final six minutes, rallied past the patient and well-schooled Massillon Tigers, 45-39, in O’Toole’s debut as his alma mater’s coach.
Earlier in the evening, Coach Kevin Neitzel’s junior-varsity squad also came on down the stretch and defeated the Tigers’ jayvees, 38-35.
''We just needed to find a way to score,’’ said O'Toole, whose team trailed, 19-10, with six minutes, 22 seconds remaining in the second quarter. ''They played us pretty tough as far as taking away some of our post action. Massillon had a great game plan and they’re very well coached.
''But the bottom line is that it was like a first scrimmage. That’s 10 days of practice and the first time with this group of kids against someone else. You know, we’re going to be flat in some areas and in some areas we’re going to be uncomfortable.
''So we got another week of practice coming up. We’ll be a little better next week, but we certainly don’t think we’ll be a finished product. Hopefully we’ll be able to peak at the right time, in January, into February and then in the tournament.
''But one thing we have (right now) is smart, tough kids that will defend.’’
Saint Ignatius, displaying that mental toughness at the defensive end of the court, put together a 9-0 run and tied the score at 19 on two free throws by junior guard Tyler Hammond with 1:41 left in the first half.
Trailing, 22-19, at halftime, the Wildcats rode two free throws by junior post Vito Sosic and a 3-pointer by senior post Dan Fox to a 26-24 lead late in the third quarter.
However, Saint Ignatius went stale on offense over the final two minutes of the third quarter and Massillon’s patience in its Princeton offense put the Tigers in front, 30-28, entering the final eight minutes.
Down by three points with 6:26 remaining to be played, the Wildcats turned to their trapping defense and put together a 7-0 run. It was a spurt that featured a two-handed slam by sophomore post Shonn Miller off a steal and an assist by Hammond, a 3-pointer by Miller, a five-second violation on Massillon and a layup by junior forward Rich Austin off a top-of-the-key lob pass from Fox. Miller led all scorers with 10 points.
After Coach Matt Creamer’s Tigers cut the deficit to 37-35 with 2:10 to go, Saint Ignatius senior guard Pat Hinkel came up with a clutch three-point play off a strong drive along the baseline with 1:48 left. Hinkel played with four fouls over the final 5:05.
The Wildcats then sealed the deal behind the free-throw shooting of Hammond and senior guard Joey Salata. Saint Ignatius was 20-of-30 from the charity stripe.
''If you have an attitude going out there that you’re not going to let them score, sometimes that’s all you need,’’ said Hinkel, who garnered All-Ohio recognition and Plain Dealer seven-county All-Star honors as a safety on the Wildcats’ 10th Division I state-championship football team. ''You can make your defense your offense by turning it into fast breaks.
''I thought I had an advantage on the player, he kind of came out and closed off, and gave me the baseline,’’ Hinkel said of his decisive three-point play. “There wasn’t much help (by Massillon’s defense), so I took it up strong.’’
In the junior varsity game, Saint Ignatius held a 36-33 lead after Zach Strippy grabbed an offensive rebound with authority and laid the ball in.
The Wildcats clinched the victory in the final 17.1 seconds on a steal by Greg Kurtz and two free throws by Ryan Ivancic. Ivancic was a member of this fall’s Division I state-champion soccer team. Tom Leppla showed the way for the ‘Cats’ offense by scoring 14 points, including four 3-pointers.