Saturday's Senior Night highlights the final week of the regular season.
Ohio City - The area’s top-ranked and state’s seventh-ranked Wildcats (16-3) wrap up their regular season with three games in four days, beginning with tomorrow’s (Wednesday’s) match up against John Adams (13-6) in Quicken Loans Arena. The respective junior varsity teams will tip off at 2:45, followed
by the varsity game at 4.
On Friday night, Senate Athletic League champion Glenville makes its annual visit to Sullivan Gymnasium. The Tarblooders entered this week with a 16-3 record and a 17th-place ranking in The Plain Dealer’s seven-county Top 25 poll. Coach Michael Holt’s team dropped a few notches after losing at Brecksville-Broadview Heights, 58-53.
Saturday night will not only be the final home game of the season for the Wildcats, when they take on the Benedictine Bengals (6-14), but also will feature a special tribute to the seniors in Coach Sean O’Toole’s program.
Friday night and Saturday night begin with the usual 6 bells junior varsity tip off. The varsity games get under way at 7:30.
As always, the Saint Ignatius Student Broadcasting Club will bring you all three games live this week, with seniors John Fanta and Greg Ziton calling it as they see it.
Here are Coach O’Toole’s comments on all three opponents along with a look at some of their key personnel.
Coach O’Toole on John Adams: “They have quality wins,” Coach O’Toole said of the Rebels’ victories over Cleveland Central Catholic, Bedford, Warrensville Heights and John Hay. “LaVonne (Rebels head coach LaVonne Davis Sr.) has done a great job building that program. This is our third year in a row playing them and you recognize that LaVonne is keeping the kids in the program and developing them. We have a very good relationship with John Adams that we absolutely want to continue on a yearly basis. They have great kids and a great staff.”
The Rebels are led by Brooklyn Sims, a 5-10 guard who is active with range; Wesley Black, a 5-10 guard who is a wide-body lefty and the primary caretaker of the ball; Terrance Jones, a 6-2 forward and a solid
all-around player; Venson Price, a 6-0 guard who is the active man off the bench; Archie Patrick, a 6-0 guard with deep 3-point range. Archie P dropped 9 3-pointers on the Ironmen of Central Catholic; and the main man, Devon Robinson, a 6-3 guard/wing who is active and athletic, and attacks the basket and the glass. Devon, who has earned Coach O’Toole’s respect, is averaging more
than 20 points and 10 rebounds a game. He had a double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds in a recent victory over Copley.
Coach O’Toole on Glenville: “Glenville’s having an outstanding season. They are always athletic and Michael (Holt) has his kids playing extremely hard. They’re scoring a ton of points and defensively they
are really strong on the ball. We have to make sure that we keep them away from the rim and make them play us five on five. Offensively we have to be aware of every entry, because they are a very tight man-to-man team that is capable of shooting the passing lanes and taking away reverses and things of that nature.”
Here is a brief breakdown on some of Coach Holt’s leading men.
Jimond Ivey: Long and aggressive, the 6-foot-4 Ivey attacks with the dribble. He is averaging more than 14 points a game. Jimond had the game-changing, one-step, one-dribble two-handed slam in the 53-50
Senate Championship Game victory over John F. Kennedy.
Carl Dowdell: The 6-4 Dowdell has endless energy and is a good offensive rebounder and an excellent defender. He averages around 8 points per game.
Glen Williams: A 5-9 two-year starting point guard, Williams pushes the action at every opportunity, has quick hands and looks for the flex.
****Craig Eubanks: The 6-4 Eubanks is a very good attacker with deep range. Craig is averaging more than 17 points per game and can bury the 3-pointer with the best of them.
****Harry Sykes: The 6-3 Sykes is a physical and athletic wing. He is a very aggressive rebounder and is the Tarblooders’ leading scorer with 18 points per game.
Coach O’Toole on Benedictine: “They have played an incredible schedule. You name them, they’ve played them. I think they are going to be a very tough out in the Division II tournament, because I don’t know too many Division II teams who have played the schedule they have played. There is really nothing they haven’t seen. They have balance, size and very quick guards. I have great respect for Albert (Bengals head coach Al Wilson) and the discipline he provides for that program.”
Those who help make the Bengals roar: Coach Wilson has gifted size in 6-7 veteran Westley Parr and 6-6 junior Tysean Powell. T. J. Steele is among the talented junior guards. In a recent 62-60 victory over Lake Catholic, the Bengals displayed the balance Coach O’Toole referred to as Powell scored 17 points, Parr dropped in 16 and Steele contributed 12 points. Saint Ignatius has won three of the last four meetings with Benedictine, but all four of those games were tense, down-to-the-wire encounters. The Wildcats prevailed in the Bengals’ Truman Field House last season, 49-46.
THE CORNER would like to express its congratulations to Wildcats senior post/forward Derek Sloan and the 'Cats' devoted senior team manager Patrick Gibbons.
Derek will be honored as a Plain Dealer Player of the Week for his outstanding performances against Cleveland Heights and Villa Angela-St. Joseph, efforts that helped Coach O'Toole's Wildcats move into the top spot in The Plain Dealer's Top 25 seven-county poll. As we reported in the VASJ game story, Derek had identical 9-for-11 nights from the foul line against the Tigers and the Vikings.
Patrick, whose endless devotion to Coach O'Toole's program has earned him the respect of everyone associated with the team, will be taking part in the pre-game warm up for tomorrow's match up against John Adams at Quicken Loans Arena. Rumor has it that Patrick was at the Fairview Recreation Center tonight practicing some of his patented shots.