Brooklyn, Ohio – The Saint Ignatius Wildcats (21-3), focusing on what they do best, will be playing for a trip to the “Sweet 16” when they face the Shaker Heights Raiders (18-6) in the Solon Division 1 District Championship Basketball Game on Saturday. The tip off from Inwood Road will be 2:30 p.m.
Shaker Heights advanced to play the ‘Cats by wearing down Bedford, 69-53, in Thursday night’s semifinal at Solon.
A team known for its quality depth, the Wildcats got another boost on Thursday with the return of talented 6-foot-7 senior post Alec Papesch, who was sidelined since Jan. 19 with a broken wrist. Alec, known as “Pappy”
to his teammates and coaches, didn’t miss a beat in practice on Thursday.
The winner of Saturday’s game will advance to Wednesday’s Regional Semifinals at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center, where it will play the Brecksville-Broadview Heights District Champion at 8 p.m.
Saturday’s final at Solon will match The Plain Dealer's poll champion, Saint Ignatius, against The PD's second-ranked Raiders. Coach Sean O'Toole's Wildcats are seeded No. 1 at Solon and Shaker Heights is the third seed.
The Solon district final will also mark the fourth consecutive postseason encounter between the Wildcats and the Raiders. Saint Ignatius defeated Shaker Heights in a district semifinal in March of 2010 and also prevailed over the Raiders in a sectional final in March of 2011. Last season, Shaker Heights eliminated the Wildcats, 70-61, in a district semifinal.
Saint Ignatius finished seventh in this season's final Associated Press big-school state poll voting and Shaker Heights wound up in a tie with St. Edward for the AP's 12th spot.
"Right now, it’s about doing what we’re capable of, high-percentage shots, getting back in transition defense, communicating, rebounding, taking care of the basketball and playing five on five,” said Coach O’Toole, whose Wildcats advanced to the district finals by turning back fourth-seeded Cleveland Heights, 71-61, in Wednesday’s semifinal at Solon. “Shaker Heights is a dangerous team off the glass, so we have to be patient and get the best shot possible.”
Wildcats first-team All-District senior post Derek Sloan helped show the way on Wednesday night with a game-high 25 points and seven rebounds. Senior guard Francisco Santiago, the AP’s Player of the Year in the Northeast Lakes
District, scored 16 points and dished out 13 assists and 6-6 junior post Eric Black rolled a pair of nines in the rebounding and scoring departments.
"I'm excited to have ‘Pappy’ back and I'm excited about how the Blacks are playing,” Coach O’Toole said in reference to Papesch, Eric Black and his twin brother David, a 6-5 junior post.
Papesch, who was shooting 72 percent from the field at the time of his injury, joined Eric Black and gifted junior guard Kyle Berger as All-District Special Mentions.
More often than not, basketball is a game of spurts and that was the difference in last season’s district semifinal encounter with Shaker Heights, when the Raiders rode a 12-2 run in the second quarter and a 14-5 spurt in the third
quarter to the nine-point victory. Shaker Heights withstood a game-high 28-point performance by Sloan.
"We have to play our game,” Coach O’Toole said. “It’s about us at this point.”
TICKET INFO: Although school is not in session on Friday, Saint Ignatius will be selling tickets for Saturday's game from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. in the Athletic Office on Friday. Tickets are $4 for students and $6 for adults.
SIBN!: If you can't make it to Saturday's game, it will be broadcast live over the Saint Ignatius Student Broadcasting Network. Seniors John Fanta and Greg Ziton will have the call.
CISCO WAS DEALING: The 13 assists that Saint Ignatius' outstanding senior guard Francisco Santiago dealt against Cleveland Heights on Wednesday night are right near the top of the Wildcats' all-time efforts. According to Saint Ignatius' record books, the all-time, single-game assists mark is shared by Tony DeCesare and Robby Parris, who had 15-assist nights in 1999 and 2006, respectively.