Saint Ignatius and St. Edward complete their annual home-and-home series on Friday night at the Eagles Nest. Action will get underway with a junior varsity game at 6 followed by the varsity tip off at 7:30.
Saint Ignatius sold its allotment of tickets in a blink of an eye on Tuesday morning. However, if you don’t have a ticket you can follow the junior varsity and varsity games live over the Saint Ignatius Student Broadcasting Network. Seniors John Fanta and Greg Ziton will call it as they see it while being perched high above the floor in what will be a basketball-savvy, standing-room crowd in the Eagles Nest. Juniors Paddy White and Cole Larson are expected to have the call on the junior varsity game.
Here is the corner’s preview on Friday’s varsity game, which will be the 86th meeting between the storied rivals in basketball. Saint Ignatius leads the all-time series, 49-36.
NOTE: THE BASKETBALL PREVIEW WILL BE FOLLOWED BY REMINDERS ON TOMORROW’S NATIONAL SIGNING DAY IN THE BREEN CENTER AND TOMORROW NIGHT’S BARON CUP HOCKEY GAME.
Ohio City – After sending his Wildcats through Tuesday’s practice and a film session, Saint Ignatius head basketball coach Sean O’Toole said his players and the coaches are anxious to get back on the hardwood
for game action.
The Wildcats (12-3), ranked third in this week’s Plain Dealer seven-county Top 25 poll, had both of their games last weekend – home to the Glenville Tarblooders and at Perrysburg – wiped out by Mother Nature. The Glenville game is scheduled to be made up on Feb. 22 in Sullivan Gymnasium.
“One weekend we play three games in a row and the next we play none,” Coach O’Toole said. “So we’re just anxious to get back out in that atmosphere and play. We’re very excited.”
Saint Ignatius resumes its schedule against its longtime rival St. Edward on Friday night at 7:30. St. Edward (16-4), ranked second by The Plain Dealer, is the host in what is one of Ohio’s most anticipated home-and- home series every season.
As was the case in Sullivan Gymnasium on Jan. 19, when the Wildcats turned back the Eagles, 58-56, St. Edward’s Eagles Nest will be sold out and the noise level will rival that of a major college showdown.
The Wildcats and the Eagles, and their respective fan bases, expect nothing less from a roundball rivalry that began nearly 60 years ago.
“Obviously we’re gearing up for the tournament draw on Sunday,” said Coach O’Toole, whose Wildcats will again be competing at the Solon Division I sectional/district, which is the most demanding big school district in Northeast Ohio, if not the entire state.
“Anyway you look at it, even with the unseeded teams, you’re going to have to win three to four tough games to get out of the district,” Coach O’Toole said, emphasizing that playing St. Edward twice in less than three weeks is an opportunity for Saint Ignatius to improve its stock heading into Sunday’s draw.
“We’ve played in some of the same tournaments and we have been on TV and they have been on TV, so there are still no secrets,” said Coach O’Toole of the rivalry with St. Edward, a program that has Coach O’Toole’s younger brother, Donnie, on its staff. “I think their lineup is a little different (from Jan. 19), we might see some different personnel. But they have their identity and they’re going to stick to their identity.
“It’s the same thing from the last time we played them,” Coach O’Toole said. “We have to handle their pressure, get high-percentage shots, share the ball well and try to get them to play as much five on five as
we can by getting back defensively and limiting their second shots. When we do that, we’re pretty successful at what we do.
“It’s a fun atmosphere and our kids our excited, without a doubt.”
Since the loss to Saint Ignatius on Jan. 19, St. Edward has won seven consecutive games, including victories over nationally ranked Mater Dei and The PD’s fifth-ranked team, Shaker Heights.
After losing tough back to back games to Columbus power Northland and six-time state champion St. Vincent-St. Mary after the Christmas break, Saint Ignatius has won six of its last seven games. The only setback in that stretch was a five point loss to nationally ranked Our Savior New American School from New York in the annual Flyin’ to the Hoop Invitational in Kettering, Ohio, a game in which the Wildcats controlled the first half and trailed by one point with 11.4 seconds left.
Columbus Northland entered this week’s action with a 19-0 record and the top ranking in the state in Division I, Saint Vincent-St. Mary is ranked 10th in the state in Division II and Our Savior is a team that draws NBA scouts to its games, let alone major college coaches.
Saint Ignatius, ranked eighth in the Division I state poll, is still playing without its gifted 6-foot-7 senior post Alec Papesch, who suffered a broken wrist during the warmup for the St. Edward game on Jan. 19. “Pappy” is seeing the specialist again on Feb. 13 and should know by then if or when he will be able to return this season.
Senior guard Francisco Santiago and senior post Derek Sloan, who joined Papesch on last season’s All-Northeast Lakes District team, continue to show the way for the Wildcats with averages of 18 points and 15 points, respectively. “Cisco” is also dishing out six assists a game. The Black twins, 6-6 Eric and 6-5 David, are doing a solid job filling in for Papesch and junior guard Kyle Berger had a nice all around game versus St. Edward in the first match up this winter, scoring 12 of his 15 points in the second half.
Coach Eric Flannery’s Eagles continue to be led by 6-5 sophomore forward Kipper Nichols, 6-4 junior forward Tony Vuyancih and 6-5 junior post Marsalis Hamilton. Junior guard Pat Riley is among the key contributors off the bench or as a starter.
****Coach Pat O'Rourke's varsity hockey team, winner of a record fourth consecutive division championship in the Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League, will begin its quest for a second consecutive Baron Cup championship
when it faces Rocky River tomorrow (Wednesday) evening at 6:30 in Brooklyn's John M. Coyne Recreation Center.
Saint Ignatius, champion the Red North West Division and the top seed for Baron Cup 1, has won 14 of its last 15 games and now stands 24-5-3 overall.
Rocky River, the eighth seed, is 23-6-1 overall. The Pirates were 6-3-1 in Red North East play. Eric Sperli, Brandon DeLano and Kyle Kopecheck have been among Rocky River's mainstays this season.
The Corner will provide game coverage on tomorrow night's opening round game and the Saint Ignatius Student Broadcasting Network will bring you the game live starting with a 6:20 pre-game. Trent Kennedy, Scott Geyman and Sean Reynolds will have the call.
****You read about their college commitments throughout the summer, fall and winter on the corner and now you can watch Saint Ignatius' student athletes from the Class of 2013 put their names on the dotted line live over the Saint Ignatius Student Broadcasting Network tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon at 3 in The Breen Center for the Performing Arts.
Jumpin' John Fanta '13 and his partners from the SIBN crew will also provide live National Signing Day interviews with many of the Wildcats.
Congratulations go out to all of the Saint Ignatius student athletes and their families who will be taking part in this special day.