The Saint Ignatius Wildcats realize they still have plenty of work to do, especially at the offensive end of the court.

That said, Wildcats coach Sean O’Toole was right when he emphasized that anytime you can hold a varsity basketball team to under 30 points you have to be happy.

Saturday night at Sullivan Gymnasium, the Wildcats fed off their defense from the get-go and wore down Villa Angela-St. Joseph, 49-29, as the cross-town rivals renewed their basketball series after not playing each other for the past four seasons.

With its defense generating most of its offense, Saint Ignatius improved to 4-2.VASJ, an inexperienced team that is also searching for some offensive punch, slipped to 1-6. Coach Dave Wojciechowski’s Vikings made their third consecutive appearance in the Division III state final four last season (a school record), but graduated the nucleus of that team.

“They have good athletes and like us they are a work in progress,’’ said O’Toole of VASJ. “They do good things, but shots aren’t falling. No one better take the Vikings lightly. As I told our team before the game, they’re like a wounded animal. And those are the scariest opponents.’’

Leading, 10-6, after the first eight minutes, the Wildcats became more aggressive in their half-court defense. Following a steal and a two-handed slam by sophomore forward Shonn Miller, the Wildcats led, 21-10, with four minutes, 48 seconds remaining in the first half.

Saint Ignatius, which rotated 11 players throughout most of the game, got three momentum-changing 3-pointers in the first 16 minutes en route to building a 12-point halftime lead. The three shots from beyond the arc were provided by Miller, senior forward Fred Schirmer and senior guard Joey Salata.

After junior guard Tom Parker put back his own shot and converted a steal into a layup, the Wildcats appeared to be taking command early in the third quarter. However, VASJ began attacking offensively and, thanks to five quick points by junior guard Josh Edmondson, trailed by 11 points with 4:18 left in the third quarter. A basket by Vikings senior forward Clinton Brewer made it an eight-point game late in the third quarter.

Saint Ignatius, sparked by another 3-pointer by Miller and a strong move to the basket by senior post Dan Fox, withstood the Vikings’ third-quarter charge and took a 14-point lead into the final eight minutes.

Applying a mixture of half-court and full-court pressure, the Wildcats pulled away on a 3-pointer by junior guard Tyler Hammond, a strong move down low by Miller and two free throws by Fox. Coach O’Toole then cleared his bench with just over two minutes remaining to be played.

Fox and Miller led the Wildcats’ offense with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Saint Ignatius out-rebounded VASJ, 34-25. Showing the way on the boards for the Wildcats was junior post Vito Sosic with six rebounds. Miller grabbed five rebounds and also blocked three shots.

“They’re athletic and they get to the rim,’’ said O’Toole of the Vikings’ third-quarter spurt. “And that’s good for us. We need to work on containing penetration, helping early on penetration, helping the helper and recovery out of that. But I thought we had a lot of good possessions tonight, defensively.’’

JAYVEES ON A LITTLE ROLL: Led by Tom Leppla's 23 points, the Wildcats' junior-varsity team defeated VASJ's JV squad, 65-42. Coach Kevin Neitzel's junior 'Cats have now won four in a row. Their only setback in six games was at Canton McKinley in Week 2.

Leppla, a sophomore guard, has totaled 75 points in his last three games.

After VASJ cut a 15-pont deficit to nine points with 5:23 left in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats regained control on a driving one-hander by guard Ryan Ivancic, a baseline jumper by Leppla, a layup by post Pat Gallagher and a crowd-pleasing, spinning one-handed drive down the lane by Ivancic.