Coach Sean O'Toole's varsity Wildcats (6-2) are the only area team ranked among the top 10 in the first Associated Press boys basketball state poll for 2012-13. The poll is based on the voting by a statewide panel of sports writers and broadcasters.
The Wildcats garnered the eighth spot in Division I. Mentor is ranked 12th and Shaker Heights and St. Edward are 15th and 16th, respectively.
Shaker Heights, St. Edward and Mentor are the top three teams in this week's Plain Dealer Top 25 seven-county poll. Saint Ignatius slipped one spot to fourth in The PD poll.
Columbus Northland (8-0), which handed the Wildcats their first loss of the season, 62-54, at Sullivan Gym on Saturday night, is Ohio's top-ranked team in Division 1. St. Vincent-St. Mary rallied past Saint Ignatius during Sunday's Scholastic Play-By-Play Classic, 76-73. See the corner's stories below on the Northland and SVSM games.
ST. VINCENT-ST. MARY’S JUNIOR VARSITY BASKETBALL TEAM USES A BIG FOURTH QUARTER EN ROUTE TO HANDING THE WILDCATS’ JAYVEES THEIR FIRST LOSS OF THE SEASON, 67-65.
Ohio City – For most of the first 22 minutes on Monday night, Saint Ignatius’ junior varsity basketball team was playing a sound and spirited game against the Fighting Irish JV program from St. Vincent-St. Mary.
After the teams played to a 28-28 tie in the first 14 minutes (JV quarters are 7 minutes), the Wildcats came back on the floor in Sullivan Gymnasium and outscored SVSM, 27-12, in the third quarter.
When gifted 6-foot-3 freshman guard Deven Stover powered up two more points in traffic, Saint Ignatius led, 57-40, with 6 minutes and 41 seconds remaining to be played.
In a matchup of two of the strongest JV programs the Akron and Greater Cleveland areas have to offer, St. Vincent-St. Mary didn’t hang its collective head. Instead, the Irish, who now stand 6-1, kept chipping away.
After 6-foot-4 freshman forward Henry Baddley converted a breakaway layup into a three-point play, SVSM trailed, 61-51, with 4:30 left.
Stover and Baddley, who finished with 22 and 20 points, respectively, displayed the skills that placed them among the area’s top 13 ninth-graders to watch by The Plain Dealer.
Picking up the tempo, the Irish closed to 62-56 on a 3-pointer by guard Johnnie Robinson with 3:52 remaining.
Stover calmly buried two free throws that pushed the Wildcats’ lead to eight points with 3:22 to go.
But SVSM responded with a 10-0 run that was highlighted by a steal and a three-point play by guard Markus Hurd, two free throws by Robinson, a strong move in the lane by Baddley that knotted the score at 64 and, following a turnover by the ‘Cats, a putback by Baddley that gave the Irish their first lead since late in the first half, 66-64 with 43 seconds left.
Wildcats sophomore guard/forward Dylan Nieto, who scored 18 points and had a solid all-around game, appeared to have tied the score at 66 when he dropped in two nothing-but-net clutch free throws with 13.8 seconds on the clock.
However, one of the officials ruled that a Wildcat stepped in the lane too soon and wiped out Nieto’s second free throw.
Hurd made 1 of 2 free throws with 12.4 seconds remaining and a 3-point attempt by Saint Ignatius bounced off the rim as time expired.
Coach Larry Arthur’s ‘Cats hit 18 2-pointers, six 3-pointers and were 11-of-18 from the free-throw line. SVSM connected on 22 2-pointers, three 3-pointers and made 14 of 24 shots from the charity stripe.
The Wildcats, who lost for the first time in eight games this season, played without their talented 6-4 sophomore post Mikal Outcalt, who sprained an ankle against Northland on Saturday night and was on crutches Monday. Mikal said he hopes to be back for this weekend’s games against University School and Lorain.
*THE CORNER WILL PREVIEW THIS WEEKEND’S VARSITY GAMES VERSUS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL AND LORAIN ON TUESDAY NIGHT.