FINDLAY – Moments after his team experienced its first setback of the young season, Findlay High basketball coach Jim Rucki spoke of the defensive effort Saint Ignatius brought to the Trojans’ court on Tuesday night.
“We knew they were going to be strong,’’ Rucki said after the Wildcats turned back Findlay, 49-40. “I know they probably think they’ve been struggling a little bit. But Saint Ignatius is going to play good competition every night out there.
“They’re strong and physical, and I knew we would have trouble running things (on offense). You know, you just get bumped a step out wider and you can’t make the pass that usually we can make. And we need to take that away from this game, to make us a better team.
“That’s the best thing about playing a team that is going to get after it and be strong at every position, physically. We’ll look at that on tape and learn how to do things better.’’
Saint Ignatius (2-1), which handed the Trojans their first loss in five games, came out strong and, after a driving one-hander by senior guard Joey Parris, led, 10-1, with 3:49 remaining in the opening quarter.
Following a timeout, Findlay seemed to settle into its offense. The Trojans closed to 21-18 with 2:09 to go in the first half.
The Wildcats, who were playing their third consecutive road game, became more aggressive at both ends of the court and, after 6-5 sophomore forward Shonn Miller buried his second 3-pointer of the first half, led, 26-18. A buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Findlay’s standout senior guard Luke Kraus made the score 26-21 at halftime.
“As long as the team gets a win, I’m happy,’’ said Miller, who scored 10 of his 14 points in the first half and tied senior post Dan Fox for team scoring honors.
The Trojans, who were coming off a 22-point victory over previously unbeaten Toledo Rogers, twice cut the deficit to one point early in the third quarter.
But Miller offset those flurries with four unanswered points, including his third 3-pointer.
“Shonn Miller off the bench, what can I say?’’ Wildcats Coach Sean O’Toole (’87) said. “He’s still a work in progress, but the finished product is going to be beautiful.’’
Parris got back in the act by making a steal near mid-court and converting it into a layup. After a three-point play by Kraus cut the deficit to three points, Parris beat his defender for a back-door layup off a picture-perfect assist from senior forward Fred Schirmer and Saint Ignatius held a 36-31 lead entering the final eight minutes.
“We need to get Joey Parris going,’’ said O’Toole of an athlete who less than a month ago was helping Saint Ignatius to a record 10th Division I state football championship as an All-Ohio wide receiver. “One of our things right now is getting more offense, and Joey Parris brings us offense.
“But, it can’t be one end of the floor and Joey knows that. I thought he did a good job defensively, too. That steal led to a breakaway and gave us some momentum.’’
The Wildcats carried that momentum into the fourth quarter as the 6-4 Fox scored eight points over the final eight minutes, including a clever move down the lane for two points and a soft jumper in the lane that pushed Saint Ignatius’ lead to 46-37 with 2:18 remaining. Fox’s jumper was preceded by a strong, driving layup by senior guard Pat Hinkel, and Hinkel helped seal the deal with two clutch free throws with 1:22 to go. Fox, a Notre Dame recruit, and Hinkel, a Miami (Ohio) recruit, garnered All-Ohio football honors as safeties.
Kraus, who recently surpassed Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as the leading scorer in the history of Findlay High’s boys basketball program, finished with a game-high 23 points. A Bowling Green State University recruit, the 6-1 Kraus had to work for everything he got against the Wildcats’ physical defense. He hit just seven of 23 shots from the field.
Saint Ignatius was 18-of-33 from the field, including a 15-of-22 performance on two-point shots, and the Wildcats connected on 10 of their 19 free throws. Fox hit on six of his seven shots from the field.
JV UPDATE: Sparked by Patrick Gallagher's 21 points, Saint Ignatius' junior-varsity team defeated Findlay's jayvees, 53-45, and handed the young Trojans their first setback of the season. Coach Kevin Neitzel's squad improved to 2-1.
The Wildcats rode Gallagher's nine points, some more solid play off the bench by Rickey Brown and clutch baskets by Mason Halter and Casey Hollis to a 26-23 lead at halftime.
Tom Leppla hit his second 3-pointer on the first possession of the second half, but Findlay, behind the strong inside play of Zach Elbin, knotted the score at 37 entering the fourth quarter. Elbin and Gallagher shared game scoring honors.
Over the final seven minutes, the Wildcats picked up their half-court defense and began pushing the ball down court. After a smooth jumper by Zach Strippy and a layup by Gallagher off an assist from Ryan Ivancic, Saint Ignatius clung to a 43-41 lead with 3:13 remaining.
The Wildcats then pulled away down the stretch, as Gallagher and Brown converted layups and Gallagher turned a steal by Brown into another strong move inside. Saint Ignatius wrapped it up on two free throws by Ivancic with 20.7 seconds left.