A relentless team defense and a selfless, crisp-passing offense were more than the host Titans could deal with. The Wildcats shoot 57 percent from the floor en route to improving to 8-2.
The junior varsity and freshmen 'Cats are also impressive, as they improve to 9-1 and 9-2, respectively, with solid victories over Lorain.
Here is the varsity basketball game story along with the junior varsity and freshmen recaps. The hockey, swimming and wrestling reports follow the basketball stories.
Lorain, Ohio - Saint Ignatius’ gifted senior post/forward and tri-captain Derek Sloan used the words help side, unselfish and energy when discussing the performance he and his teammates put forth in Lorain County on Saturday night.
If ever there was a model display of “help” defense, selfless offense and an overall energy that was contagious, Coach Sean O’Toole’s Wildcats unleashed it from the get-go on the home court of the Lorain
Titans.
With its first and second units playing a near flawless first half, Saint Ignatius had the home crowd and some savvy Lorain gym rats shaking their heads, as the ‘Cats ran, rebounded and defended their way to a 72-38 triumph. It was the eighth victory in 10 games for a team that entered the tipoff ranked fourth in The Plain Dealer’s seven-county coverage area and eighth in the Associated Press Division I state poll.
"Our focus tonight, because these guys (the Titans) are extremely athletic and have a good mix of guards, was team defense,” said Coach O’Toole ’87. “We had to get better with team defense. We lost two games last
week (to Columbus Northland and St. Vincent-St. Mary) because our team defense was below par. Tonight it was very good and that is where basketball starts, with that defensive effort.”
There was no lacking in effort on either side of the court as Saint Ignatius had the Titans in a stunned state of mind before the first quarter was five minutes old.
On the strength of a basket by multi-skilled senior guard and tri-captain Francisco Santiago off an assist from junior point guard and fellow tri-captain Danny Bova, a 3-pointer by tough and athletic junior guard
Kyle Berger, a basket by 6-foot-7 senior post Alec Papesch courtesy of an assist from Berger, a Bova layup off a Santiago assist, a teardrop down the lane Santiago and a follow by Sloan, the Wildcats led, 14-4, with 3 minutes and 32 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
Pressuring the ball, contesting every shot and forcing turnovers, the ‘Cats extended their advantage to 20-7 on a basket by 6-5 junior forward David Black off an assist from his twin brother – 6-6 junior post Eric
Black - a layup by David Black off a heads-up pass from 6-5 sophomore forward Jaylin McDonald and another score down low by the New York University-bound Papesch off a nice dish from Bova.
With its 10-man rotation giving the Titans little breathing room, Saint Ignatius stormed to a 38-13 lead by halftime. Among the other first-half plays that earned the smiling approval of the neutral gym rats saw
Sloan and Santiago combine on a steal and Santiago hit Sloan with a pin-point pass that the 6-5 Sloan thundered down with a two-handed slam.
When Sloan wasn’t helping fuel the offense, he was blocking shots into the humid air inside Lorain’s gym. Derek had three impressive rejections off help-side defense in the first half.
"We emphasized playing on the help side of the defense,” said Sloan, who speaks softly but carries a wealth of talent. “To cut off drives you have to have guys cutting to the basket and protecting the rim. You
have to anticipate where they are going and step to the attack.
"When our first five went out, the second five did a great job of keeping the energy,” Sloan continued. “They (the Titans) have good ball pressure, so we had to keep moving and passing the ball up court.”
If the ‘Cats weren’t beating Lorain in transition, they were dissecting the half-court defense of the now 4-7 Titans.
A steal and a layup by Berger, a transition break that saw Sloan deliver the ball to Bova and Bova hit Papesch in stride for a bucket and a three-point play by Papesch were also part of the first-half barrage.
Sloan’s tip-in had the Lorain coaching staff calling for a timeout with the Titans down, 31-9. Following the timeout, Santiago buried a nothing-but-net 3-pointer. A strong move along the baseline by Sloan and a
turnaround jumper by David Black that still reminds this old-timer of the shot Bill Walton thrived on during his days at UCLA, completed Saint Ignatius’ 38 points in 16 minutes first-half offense.
As for the second half, there was more unselfish play by the Wildcats, including a steal by Bova that saw him pass the ball to a fast-breaking Berger, who made a nice return pass to Bova that Danny converted into a layup. The Black family was treated to another David Black basket off an assist from his brother and Coach O’Toole watched McDonald score off an authoritative drive along the baseline, 6-3 junior forward Isiah Barbra put back a shot off sure hustle, senior point guard Bryan Fisher score on a driving one-hander high off the glass and junior guard Ryan Napoli send home a 3-pointer from near the left baseline.
All 15 of the Wildcats played and 14 of them hit the scoring column. David Black led the way with 13 points and Santiago and Papesch each scored 11.
Although Saint Ignatius will now gear up for its much-anticipated game against rival St. Edward on Saturday night in Sullivan Gymnasium, Coach O’Toole emphasized to his players that there is no question
what the No. 1 priority is this coming week – semester exams.
*A strong third quarter by the Wildcats’ junior varsity fuels a 53-38 victory over the Titans.
After a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Joe Isabella that came off a hustle recovery of the ball by 6-4 sophomore post Mikal Outcalt and Mikal’s leaping on-the-money assist, Coach Larry Arthur’s team led, 21-18, at halftime.
Saint Ignatius began to steadily increase that advantage in the third quarter.
Another athletic move by Outcalt off an inbounds alley-oop pass, a free throw by sophomore forward
Dre’ Mont Jones and a breakaway slam dunk by Outcalt got the Wildcats’ offense flowing in the second half.
A layup by 6-3 sophomore forward/post John Abdelnour off another unselfish assist from sophomore guard Jack Michals, a jumper by sophomore guard/forward Sam Fuller and a basket by sophomore forward Matt
Roggenburk that came off an assist from sophomore point guard Zach Johnson extended Saint Ignatius’ advantage to 34-25.
Following a steal by Jones, a breakaway by Fuller and a layup in transition by gifted freshman guard Deven Stover, the Wildcats led, 40-27, entering the final seven minutes. JV quarters are 7 minutes and varsity
quarters are 8 minutes.
Free throws by Jones and Stover made it a 15-point game and after a strong move along the baseline by Stover and another breakaway by Outcalt, Saint Ignatius was in command with just over 2 minutes remaining.
In improving to 9-1 on the season, Coach Arthur’s team got a game-high 18 points from Stover, 10 points from Outcalt and nine points from Jones.
*Congratulations go out to Coaches Tony Basalla and Mike Salopek, who guided their Saint Ignatius Freshman Gold Team to a 57-32 victory over Lorain on Saturday afternoon.
The Gold freshmen now stand 9-2 on the season. Kyle Kalish led the way with 15 points and Sharief Irish and Tyler Musbach contributed 8 and 7 points, respectively.
Hockey: The Ice Cats, ranked No. 1 in the coaches' state poll, turned away Lake Catholic, 1-0, in a Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League Red West Division game at the Brooklyn Athletic Complex on Saturday evening.
Saint Ignatius, which improved to 16-4-3, scored the game's lone goal in the first period. Kevin Yarcusko sent home the difference maker off an assist from Jack Mezanec.
Wildcats senior goalie Mike Mulach turned away nine shots and the Cougars' keeper,
Liam Conway, had 28 saves. Saint Ignatius is 2-0-1 versus Lake Catholic this season.
The Ice Cats, who sit atop the Red West Division, will now gear up for the annual Meadville (Pa.) Tournament, which will take place from January 18th through the 20th.
Swimming and Diving: Congratulations go out to Coach Jeff Ridler and the entire team, as Coach Ridler tweeted that the 'Cats set four meet records during the finals of Saturday's Northeast Classic.
Wrestling: According to another report off twitter, Coach Mark Sullivan's Wildcats were defeated by Brunswick, 37-22, but came back to defeat host St. Vincent-St. Mary, 42-33, in a tri-match on Saturday night.