In his Saturday homily during Saint Ignatius’ pre-game Mass, Father John Murphy told the players that each one of them has a special place in the total makeup of the team, that all of the pieces have to fit together.
A few hours later, the Wildcats took the floor in Sullivan Gymnasium and physically displayed the message Fr. Murphy delivered so eloquently.
Saint Ignatius, with the sum of its parts being more than a tall and talented Strongsville club could handle, wore down the Mustangs, 63-43, in a matchup of two of the area’s top 25 teams.
The Wildcats, behind some crisp passing, a balanced offense and another relentless effort on defense, improved to 9-3. Strongsville, which was coming off a stunning loss at Mayfield on Friday night, slipped to 8-5. Saint Ignatius entered the game ranked sixth in The Plain Dealer’s seven-county poll and the Mustangs were ranked 16th.
“By no means are we not going to take what they give us,’’ said Wildcats coach Sean O’Toole (’87) after his team completed a 2-0 weekend. “They came out and zoned us, and we were patient. We’re getting better and better each night at sharing the basketball.
“If we have an opportunity to score, but there is a better opportunity, we’re learning how to make that one dish, that extra pass, and it’s paying dividends. People are playing their roles.’’
Strongsville, which had a distinct height advantage over the Wildcats, came out aggressive and took a 6-0 lead.
Undaunted, Saint Ignatius stuck to its game plan.
Behind the 3-point shooting of sophomore forward Shonn Miller and senior forward Fred Schirmer, and a soft one-hander down the lane by junior point guard Tyler Hammond, the Wildcats held a 12-8 advantage after the first quarter.
After the Mustangs cut the deficit to one point, Saint Ignatius began displaying the ball movement that Hammond described as being so important in Coach O’Toole’s offense.
Working the ball around the perimeter, the Wildcats moved to a 20-13 lead on two more 3-pointers by Schirmer that almost brought rain, or should we say snow?
Strongsville, which was 15-of-30 from the free-throw line against Mayfield, hit its first seven free throws on Saturday night and again cut the deficit to one point with 1:42 remaining in the first half. The Mustangs were 16-of-19 from the charity stripe and Saint Ignatius hit on six of its 10 free throws.
Hammond, whose role of running the offense drew praise from Coach O’Toole, gave the Wildcats a 26-21 halftime lead by burying two of his three 3-pointers in the final minute of the second quarter. Saint Ignatius hit six of its seven 3-pointers in the first 16 minutes.
“No matter how you define it, we do get some run outs and some easy ones (baskets) because of the pressure, playing in the passing lanes and creating turnovers,’’ said O’Toole after his defense limited another opponent to under 50 points. Seven times this season Strongsville has scored 70 or more points.
“We had only seven turnovers, which means we were getting plenty of shot attempts, which is great,’’ O’Toole said. “We were down 6-0 right at the beginning, but then we got it to the rim three straight times. If we get it to the rim, we feel we have a chance to be successful, that it will open up some of the perimeter looks.’’
In the second half, the Wildcats, said Hammond, made a concerted effort to pass the ball inside and, if nothing was there, work it back outside. That patient and fluid ball movement seemed to draw the taller Mustangs into a gambling defense.
After two strong moves down low by senior post Dan Fox and a three-point play by junior guard Tom Parker off a turnover, Saint Ignatius led, 33-21, with 6:38 remaining in the third quarter.
The Mustangs would close to eight points, only to have the Wildcats respond with a crowd-pleasing, spinning one-hander down the lane by Miller and another 3-pointer by Hammond.
Saint Ignatius, which travels to Walsh Jesuit next Saturday night, took command on a clever reverse layuup along the baseline by Hammond, a three-point play by Fox off his offensive rebound, another three-point play by Parker – this time off two exceptional passes by senior guards Pat Hinkel and Joey Salata – and a follow by Parker.
Leading, 48-29, entering the final eight minutes, the Wildcats settled the issue on a layup by junior forward Mark Myers off an assist by Hinkel, a follow by Miller and a driving one-hander by Hammond.
Hammond finished with a game-high 15 points, Parker and Fox each scored 10 and Schirmer had nine points on three 3-pointers.
Saint Ignatius out-rebounded Strongsville, 37-26. Fox and Hinkel each grabbed six rebounds, junior post Vito Sosic pulled down five and Parker and Miller each picked off four off the glass.
The Wildcats, who limited Erie Cathedral Prep to 36 points on Friday night, entered the weekend yielding just 47.4 points per game.
JUNIOR VARSITY MAKES IT TWO IN A ROW
Behind 25 points by post Rich Austin, the Wildcats’ junior-varsity team overpowered the Mustangs’ jayvees, 70-47, and improved to 7-5 on the season.
The 6-5 Austin played less than three quarters before going to the locker room to prepare for the varsity game.
Supporting Austin were guard Rickey Brown, who scored 13 points and created several turnovers with his defensive hustle, guard Jack Tupa (10 points) and guard Greg Kurtz (eight points).