The undefeated Vikings from Columbus come on strong late in the second quarter and take control in the third quarter en route to a 62-54 victory at a packed Sullivan Gymnasium on Saturday night.
Saint Ignatius, which lost for the first time in seven games this young season, has to put this one in the book and prepare for Sunday's match up with tradition-rich St. Vincent-St. Mary (4-5) in the Scholastic Play by Play Classic at Baldwin-Wallace's Ursprung Gymnasium. The tipoff is scheduled for 2:15 p.m.
*Here is the varsity basketball game story, followed by the recap on the varsity hockey team's victory over University School and the report on the junior varsity basketball team's impressive triumph over Northland.
By Eddie Dwyer, Copyright January 2013
Ohio City - Saint Ignatius head basketball coach Sean O’Toole ’87 laid it right on the line after his Wildcats suffered their first defeat in seven games this season.
“As a team, they (Columbus Northland) play smart and spread it well,” Coach O’Toole said minutes after Saint Ignatius was defeated by the Vikings of the State Capital’s City League, 62-54, in front of a basketball-rich crowd in Sullivan Gym on Saturday night. Northland now stands 8-0.
“He’s (Shemar Waugh) as good a point guard as we have played, no doubt about it,” Coach O’Toole continued in reference to the Vikings’ talented 5-foot-10 junior, who controlled the flow of the game from late in the second quarter throughout most of the second half. “We never got into a rhythm for whatever reason and I just don’t feel good about that. We actually tried to simplify some of the things we were doing and obviously it backfired on us. In the end, there is not one facet of the game I felt comfortable with and that’s not good.”
The Wildcats, ranked third in The Plain Dealer’s seven-county Top 25 poll, came out with a purpose and rode eight first-quarter points by 6-7 senior post Alec Papesch to a 17-11 lead after the first eight minutes. The first-quarter highlights included a 3-pointer by junior point guard and tri-captain Danny Bova, a basket by 6-5 senior post and tri-captain Derek Sloan off an assist from senior wing Austin Sterpka, a driving one-hander by junior guard Kyle Berger and a 15-footer by Papesch.
In the late stages of the second quarter, however, Northland picked up its effort off both backboards and, with Waugh directing the tempo, started to take the crowd out of the game.
After an authoritative drive down the lane by 6-7 junior Jalen Tucker and a 3-pointer by 6-3 junior Derek McKeithen, the Vikings went to their locker room at halftime leading, 29-25.
It was more of the same in the third quarter, as Northland continued to get strong play from Waugh, Tucker, McKeithen and the Towns tandem – 6-7 freshman Seth and 6-3 senior Armani. Reserve guards Ty Hairston and Jhustus Cornley also gave head coach Sean Taylor some quality minutes.
Seth Towns fueled the Vikings’ third-quarter offense with a 3-pointer, Tucker powered up a basket off a McKeithen assist, Armani Towns buried a baseline jumper, McKeithen hit two free throws and after a quick-hops follow by Tucker, Northland led, 44-30.
“Defensively, we couldn’t contain them, we kept giving them second shots,” said Coach O’Toole. “Offensively, there was just never a rhythm and obviously that falls into my lap. We had eight baskets in the second half and that’s just not going to get it done.”
Saint Ignatius, which shot 36 percent from the field and turned the ball over 19 times, was able to cut the deficit to nine points entering the final eight minutes.
Just when the home fans were back in it, Waugh scored on a teardrop off a loose ball and converted a three-point play from a smooth dribble drive that again pushed the Vikings’ advantage to 14 points.
A three-point play by McKeithen, a Waugh dish to Armani Towns for two points and Waugh and Cornley’s composure with the ball down the stretch offset a strong second half by senior guard and tri-captain Francisco Santiago. “Cisco” scored 14 of his game-high 18 points over the final 16 minutes. Papesch tossed in 14 of his 17 points in the first half.
Santiago’s 3-pointer at the final buzzer made it an eight-point game.
As usual, Northland displayed its exceptional balance with four of its players finishing in double figures – McKeithen with 16, Tucker and Waugh with 12 and Armani Towns with 11.
ICE CATS DEFEAT THE PREPPERS AT THE POND IN AUBURN.
Posted by Eddie Dwyer
The scoring is courtesy of Saint Ignatius’ Head Hockey Coach Pat O’Rourke ’90 and Mr. Brian McQuinn.
Youth was served at The Pond on Saturday, as goals by sophomore forwards Matty Geither and Kevin Yarcusko spelled the difference in a 2-1 victory over University School.
In what is one of the classiest rivalries in area ice hockey, the Ice Cats, now 15-4-3 on the season, also
benefitted from another strong effort in goal by senior Bernie Cook. Bernie finished with 25 saves.
Saint Ignatius took a 1-0 lead in the first period on Matty’s goal, with the assist going to junior forward Beck Schultz.
Kevin sent his goal home in the second period off an assist from Jack Mezanec, and a late goal by the
Preppers’ Tyler Dalton wrapped up the scoring. The ‘Cats’ defense was solid down the stretch.
WILDCATS JUNIOR VARSITY BASKETBALL TEAM IMPROVES TO 7-0 BEHIND A STRONG SECOND HALF.
By Eddie Dwyer
Ohio City - Coach Larry Arthur’s junior varsity Wildcats came on strong in the second half Saturday night and wore down the JV basketball team from Columbus Northland, 66-46.
A strong move to the basket by sophomore guard/forward Andre Wolford pushed the ‘Cats’ lead to 31-24 early in the third quarter and Saint Ignatius maintained a seven-point advantage after 6-foot-4 sophomore post Mikal Outcalt converted a breakaway layup into a three-point play.
After an Outcalt layup off an assist from sophomore point guard Zach Johnson, a layup by sophomore post/forward Dre’Mont Jones, a free throw by sophomore guard/forward Dylan Nieto and an authoritative put back by 6-3 freshman guard/forward Deven Stover, the Wildcats led, 41-27, with 1 minute and 28 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Contesting every shot and going strong to both backboards, Saint Ignatius began to pull away on a strong follow by Jones, a crowd-pleasing move by Stover and another put back by Stover.
The Wildcats left no doubt when Nieto scored off a smooth baseline jumper courtesy of an assist from Johnson with just under four minutes left.
Saint Ignatius, which will host St. Vincent-St. Mary’s jayvees on Monday night at 6 in Sullivan Gym, added some sweet frosting to the victory cake with nothing-but-net 3-pointers by sophomores Jack Larsen and Liam Coyne.
Outcalt (15 points), Jones (11 points) and Nieto (10 points) led the 'Cats' scoring column.