After his team suffered a two-point loss at Saint Edward on Friday night, a setback that prevented a season-series sweep of the Eagles, Saint Ignatius coach Sean O’Toole said he and his staff would find out what the Wildcats are made of.
Well, they got their answer in less than 24 hours.
The Wildcats, setting the tempo from the get-go on Saturday night, wore down a talented Rhodes team, 82-65, in a non-league matchup in Sullivan Gymnasium.
Saint Ignatius, putting together its best offensive output of the season, improved to 11-4 and, in the process, drew a huge smile of praise from its head coach.
“I’m so proud of these guys,’’ said O’Toole (’87), who is in his first season as the Wildcats’ basketball mentor. “To come off a tough loss against your top rival on the road, a game we felt we played good enough to win or at least had a chance to win, and now you have to bounce back against a very good, very athletic basketball team.
“We just came out of the gun, shared the ball and got ourselves some easy buckets. Defensively, I was very proud. At halftime, they had 19 (points). So we’re right where we want them.’’
Rhodes, which was hoping to establish some momentum for the postseason tournament by upsetting the Wildcats on their home floor, led, 5-4, after guard/forward Kevin Jenkins buried a 3-pointer in the early going.
The Rams’ lead was short-lived, as Saint Ignatius responded with a 3-pointer by senior post Dan Fox and two free throws by senior guard/forward Pat Hinkel. On the strength of a 3-pointer and two free throws by senior guard Joey Parris and some relentless half-court defense, the Wildcats led, 18-11, after the first eight minutes.
It was more of the same in the second quarter.
A basket by Fox, a steal and a layup by junior guard Tom Parker and a soft, driving one-hander by Parker pushed Saint Ignatius’ lead to 24-11. The Wildcats moved to a 15-point advantage on a layup by junior post Vito Sosic off an assist by Fox, and a three-point play by senior point guard Joey Salata had Coach O’Toole’s team in command.
“We had to move on from there,’’ said Sosic, referring to the Saint Edward game. “We made a lot of mistakes and after the game it was tough. But, we just have to keep playing hard. Defense is our MO and what did we have tonight, 82 points? That’s great.’’
With Sosic and Fox continuing to hurt Rhodes down low and Coach O’Toole going to his bench early and often, Saint Ignatius extended a 17-point halftime lead to 48-28 on a three-point play by Parker and a coast-to-coast layup by Fox. After junior guards Owen Callahan and Kyle Wise came up with 3-pointers and junior point guard Tyler Hammond hit a smooth jumper from the left baseline, the Wildcats took a 20-point lead into the final eight minutes.
“There are kids that work very hard with us in practice each day and they deserve to play,’’ said O’Toole, who utilized 15 players and had 14 of them end up in the scorebook. “If I get the chance, I play them. The problem is that our schedule is so brutal. We were just fortunate that we got them some extended minutes tonight, because they have earned it.’’
Working primarily against Rhodes’ starting rotation, O’Toole’s third rotation featured 10 points and six rebounds by junior post Rich Austin, eight points by senior post Brad Rabal and six assists by senior guard Mike Tupa.
Fox led the Wildcats with 11 points while playing slightly more than two quarters. He, Parker and Sosic were a combined 12-of-13 from the field, and Austin hit all five of his shots. Jenkins was one of the Rams’ few bright spots, as he finished with a game-high 20 points.
JUNIOR VARSITY IS RAM-TOUGH.
The Wildcats’ junior-varsity team improved to 10-5 by defeating Rhodes, 60-36.
Saint Ignatius moved to a 14-6 lead on a three-point play by freshman guard Jack Tupa with two minutes, nine seconds remaining in the first quarter.
A three-point play by sophomore post Pat Gallagher off a slick assist by sophomore point guard Ryan Ivancic, a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Tom Leppla and a putback by Austin, who alternates between the junior varsity and varsity, extended the Wildcats’ advantage to 29-11 late in the second quarter.
On the strength of a one-handed slam dunk along the baseline by Austin and a driving one-hander by Tupa, Coach Kevin Neitzel’s team led, 34-15, at halftime.
Saint Ignatius came out in the third quarter and settled the issue on a layup by sophomore forward Zach Strippy off an Ivancic assist, a strong move down low by Strippy, a basket by Ivancic off a Strippy assist, and another second-effort move inside by Strippy.