A lot of basketball coaches would have been pointing to the last sequence that occurred in Friday night’s non-league headliner between Saint Ignatius and St. Edward, and wondering out loud why a call wasn’t made.
However, Wildcats coach Sean O’Toole (’87), just moments after his team was turned away by the host Eagles, 48-46, preferred to look at everything that led up to the final 16.8 seconds.
“It never comes down to one play,’’ O’Toole said after Saint Ignatius lost for the fourth time in 14 games. “I can think of hundred things – different possessions throughout the game, shots in the first half that we didn’t take and good shots that weren’t falling.’’
After Saint Edward 6-4 senior forward Jor’gio Alexander-Lacey hit one of two free throws with 16.8 ticks remaining, the Wildcats, trailing by two points, worked the ball down court and attempted two shots underneath their basket – shots that were definitely partially blocked, but shots that also appeared to draw some contact. The officials didn’t see anything that warranted a whistle, time expired and the Eagles avenged the Jan. 16th four-point loss to Saint Ignatius.
“The bottom line is that we got good looks (earlier in the game) that didn’t go, and that’s going to happen some nights,’’ said O’Toole.
The Wildcats were 18-of-49 from the field and 10-of-19 from the free-throw line. Normally a decent 3-point shooting team, Saint Ignatius was 0-for-13 from beyond the arc. Saint Edward hit on 14 of its 37 shots, three of which were 3-pointers by sophomore guard Delbert Love, and Coach Eric Flannery’s team was 17-of-30 from the charity stripe.
Entering the game as the fifth-ranked team in The Plain Dealer Top 25, seven-county poll, the Wildcats used an 8-0 run in taking a 13-7 lead into the second quarter.
Saint Ignatius pushed its advantage to eight points on two free throws by junior post Vito Sosic with four minutes, 26 seconds remaining in the first half. The 6-3 Sosic had a strong game at both ends of the court and led the Wildcats with 14 points, including 10 in the second half.
Saint Edward, on the strength of four quick points by Alexander-Lacey, cut the deficit to 22-18 by halftime. The Eagles (12-5), ranked 10th by The Plain Dealer, made just three baskets from the field in the first half and were 12-of-20 from the free-throw line in the first 16 minutes.
“Price really showed up in the second half, he killed us,’’ said OToole of Saint Edward’s highly regarded 6-10 sophomore post James Price. “They went to him, they fed him and he responded. He hit free throws, he hit turnaround jumpers. We were trying to get him away from the basket and he was hitting 12- and 15-footers. I commend him.’’
Saint Ignatius, which takes on another big front line tonight when it hosts Rhodes at 7:30 in Sullivan Gymnasium, got some more strong work down low by Sosic and built its lead back up to eight points midway through the third quarter.
The Eagles kept their composure, however, and, after Love buried his second 3-pointer of the quarter, trailed by just two points entering the final eight minutes. Love scored all 11 of his points in the second half.
Riding the momentum of Love’s 3-pointer, Saint Edward turned to Price and he was right with two soft turnaround jumpers that gave the Eagles a 36-34 lead early in the fourth quarter. Price finished with a game-high 15 points, 12 coming in the second half.
The Wildcats, who are seeded fourth at next month’s Division I sectional/district at Warrensville Heights, responded with another second-effort move down low by Sosic and regained the lead on a putback by junior guard Tom Parker. After a steal and four free throws by junior point guard Tyler Hammond, Saint Ignatius led, 42-36, with 4:19 left.
The final four minutes featured a roller-coaster of emotions, as Saint Edward closed to 42-40 on a back-door layup by senior forward Jack Wooley and another nothing-but-net jumper by Price.
Saint Ignatius answered with a putback by 6-4 senior post Dan Fox and again led by six points after 6-4 sophomore forward Shonn Miller converted an assist by Fox into a smooth reverse layup along the baseline.
However, just when the Wildcats appeared to be grabbing the stretch-run momentum, Fox picked up a tough fifth foul.
Saint Edward, with Price hitting four clutch free throws, cut the deficit to two points with 1:43 to go. After a turnover by Saint Ignatius, the Wildcats, focusing their attention on Price, were hurt by an open 3-pointer by Love that put the Eagles in front, 47-46, with 1:08 remaining.
Following another turnover, Alexander-Lacey split his free throws and the hectic final 16.8 seconds ended with the Saint Ignatius coaching staff pleading for a foul call.
“We left the ball there, you can’t leave the ball,’’ said O’Toole of the defensive breakdown on Love’s third 3-pointer. “I understand we’re worried about Price, but obviously we have a great respect for Love. We certainly didn’t want to give him an open look.’’
O’Toole, who emphasized that he, his staff and his players will find out what they’re made of tonight when they look to rebound against Rhodes, saw his team out-rebound the Eagles, 31-29. Saint Edward will enter next month’s tournament play as the No. 1 seed in the Brecksville-Broadview Heights sectional/district.
‘CATS JUNIOR VARSITY AVENGES LOSS TO EAGLES.
Coach Kevin Neitzel (’90) watched his team take an early seven-point lead and never fold as the JV ‘Cats split their season series with Saint Edward’s jayvees, 44-35.
Leading by five points entering the fourth quarter, the Wildcats (9-5) began to pull away on a 3-pointer by guard Greg Kurtz, a steal by Kurtz, a soft, driving one-hander high off the glass by point guard Ryan Ivancic and a free throw by post Pat Gallagher.
Saint Ignatius then settled the issue behind some staunch defense and clutch free-throw shooting by Ivancic and Kurtz.
Guard Tom Leppla tossed in 11 points for the Wildcats and Kurtz and post Rich Austin each scored 10 points.