The Wildcats close their storied winter at 21-4 after Shaker Heights has a near-perfect day from the foul line and does some strong work around the rim.
Saint Ignatius' gifted senior post Derek Sloan scores a game-high 26 points, but the Raiders finish with four players in double figures. Sophomore post Esa Ahmad and senior guard Mel Leach score 21 and 16 points, respectively, to pace Shaker Heights (19-6), which advances to Wednesday night's Division I regional semifinals at Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center.
Solon, Ohio - Following the traditional post-game prayer late Saturday afternoon, Saint Ignatius’ highly successful head basketball coach Sean O’Toole ’87 addressed his team in its locker room at Solon High School.
In summarizing the Wildcats’ outstanding winter of 2012-13, Coach O’Toole offered no excuses or critiques.
The only finger pointing Coach O’Toole made was in the direction of the Shaker Heights locker room, as he praised the Raiders for their exceptional efforts en route to defeating his Wildcats, 61-52, in a Division I District Championship Game that attracted a full house of 2,000-plus to the spacious gymnasium on Inwood Road.
“An incredible year with great, great senior leadership,” Coach O’Toole said of a season that saw his Wildcats finish 21-4, win a school-best 19 regular season games, finish No. 1 in The Plain Dealer’s Top 25 poll and garner a seventh-place ranking in the Associated Press big school state poll.
“We had aspirations of playing at Cleveland State (in this coming week’s regional), obviously, and maybe even the next trip (the state final four),” Coach O’Toole continued.
In what was an electric atmosphere at Solon, one very similar to the legendary district final games that were played in the “Big House on Broadway” at now closed Cleveland South High School, Saint Ignatius rode the play of its gifted senior post and tri-captain Derek Sloan to a 21-17 lead in the early stages of the second quarter.
Shaker Heights (19-6), ranked second in The PD poll and 12th in the AP’s rankings, answered with a 7-0 run that featured a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Kaleb Roy.
The Wildcats, who were also defeated by the Raiders in last year’s district semifinals and are now 2-2 versus Shaker Heights in their past four postseason encounters, took a 25-24 lead on two free throws by Sloan and a layup by junior guard Kyle Berger that came off Kyle’s steal.
Shaker Heights responded again and went to its locker room at halftime with a one-point advantage after Raiders standout senior guard Mel Leach buried two free throws. And it was the Raiders’ ability to cash in at the charity stripe all afternoon that paid a huge role in the final outcome.
“They got to the line, I was impressed with how they played,” said Coach O’Toole of Shaker Heights’ 23-for-25 performance from the foul line, including 14 of 15 over the final eight minutes. “They took it to us
inside, but we didn’t play as well offensively as we could have. In the end, they had too many touches inside right at the rim and we had to foul them. Good teams do that.”
In what was a punch-counter punch third quarter, the Wildcats, who were 13-of-25 from the line, took a 31-30 lead on two free throws by 6-foot-6 junior post Eric Black with 4 minutes and 40 seconds remaining in
the quarter.
The Raiders, who seemed to have the right answers throughout the final 12 minutes, went back on top, 34-31, on a basket by impressive 6-7 sophomore post Esa Ahmad and a 15-foot jumper by 6-5 senior forward Kash Blackwell. Ahmad produced a team-high 21 points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots.
Saint Ignatius would close to 34-33 on a slam dunk by Sloan off an excellent display of moving without the ball, but Shaker Heights, fueled by another 3-pointer by Roy, outscored the ‘Cats, 7-2 , down the third-quarter stretch and led, 41-35, entering the final eight minutes.
Sandwiching a soft baseline jumper by Blackwell and two free throws by Ahmad around a strong baseline move by Eric Black, the Raiders pushed their advantage to seven points with 3:03 to go.
The Wildcats and Sloan were not about to call it a day, as Derek’s four unanswered points made it a three-point game with 2:09 remaining.
However, just when Saint Ignatius was making a final charge, Blackwell and Roy combined for 10 game-sealing free throws over the final 1:55, including six by Roy.
Sloan ended a marvelous career for the Wildcats by scoring a game-high 26 points, pulling down a game-best 10 rebounds and blocking four shots.
Leach (16 points), Roy (12 points) and Blackwell (10 points) were the complementary parts to Ahmad’s productive afternoon and Saint Ignatius' multi-skilled senior guard Francisco Santiago totaled 11 points.
“I think they earned their free throws,” Coach O’Toole said of the Raiders’ mastery from the charity stripe. "They mixed things up and we rushed some shots early. But they’re good. Their guards are good and their bigs are good. Ahmad is a load.
“I look back at everything and there are things we could have done better,” Coach O’Toole continued. “But what an unbelievable group of kids we have.”
A group of kids that, in the words of Wildcats assistant coach Fred DiSanto ’80, probably exemplified Saint Ignatius’ motto of “Men For Others” better than any team in its rich basketball history. And that comes from a former Wildcats basketball and football standout, and a member of the Saint Ignatius Athletic Hall of Fame.