SHAKER HEIGHTS (20-2) ADVANCES TO SATURDAY AFTERNOON'S DIVISION I DISTRICT FINAL AT SOLON BEHIND A 12-2 SECOND-QUARTER SPURT AND A 14-5 RUN IN THE THIRD QUARTER.

DESCRIBED BY HEAD COACH SEAN O'TOOLE '87 AS A TEAM THAT IN MANY WAYS OVERACHIEVED THIS WINTER, SAINT IGNATIUS CLOSES ITS MEMORABLE SEASON AT 16-6.

DEREK SLOAN, ONE OF THE SPARKS TO WHAT SHOULD BE A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR THE WILDCATS, SCORES A GAME-HIGH 28 POINTS AND SHAKER'S GIFTED POINT GUARD TERRY ROZIER THROWS IN 22 TO LEAD THE RAIDERS.

BY EDDIE DWYER, COPYRIGHT MARCH 2012

After he thanked his seniors for the tremendous example they set and his entire team for putting together a 16-6 season that included five setbacks by five points or less, Saint Ignatius head basketball coach Sean O’Toole ’87 turned his attention to Wednesday night’s victor – the quick, deep and skilled Shaker Heights Raiders.

“This is a team that you have to limit their runs, their spurts,” said Coach O’Toole of the Raiders, moments after they turned away his Wildcats, 70-61, in a district-semifinal match up at the talent-rich Solon Division I sectional/district. “If you can hold their runs and keep it to a couple of possessions, you have a shot.”

Unfortunately for Saint Ignatius, Coach Danny Young’s team came up with two very telling spurts – a 12-2 run in the second quarter that included seven unanswered points and led to a seven-point halftime lead for Shaker Heights, and a commanding 14-5 gallop in the third quarter that featured a 3-pointer from standout senior point guard Terry Rozier and was comprised of another 7-0 run. That second 7-0 spurt came off a three-point play by 6-foot-4 senior forward Robert Fomby, a tip-in by 6-6 freshman post Esa Ahmad and two free throws by 5-10 junior guard Mel Leach that staked the second-seeded Raiders to a 14-point lead late in the third quarter.

After the fourth-seeded Wildcats closed to 11 points on three free throws by gifted 6-5 junior post/forward Derek Sloan, the multi-skilled Rozier, a Louisville recruit, launched another high-arching 3-pointer that kissed the net and beat the buzzer.

“They’re awfully skilled and awfully athletic,” Coach O’Toole said of the second-seeded Raiders. “I thought we did a good job of attacking them, but we left some points at the free-throw line. In the end, we just didn’t have enough fuel to hold them.”

Saint Ignatius, which finished 20 of 33 from the free-throw line, was able to outscore Shaker Heights, 6-3 in the early going of the fourth quarter and again close to 11 points. The big baskets in that mini spurt were a put back by 6-6 junior post Alec Papesch and a reverse layup along the baseline by junior guard Francisco Santiago.

The Raiders, who were eliminated by the Wildcats in the district semifinals of March 2010 and the sectional finals of March 2011, pushed their lead to 13 points on a floating one-hander by Leach. With his team leading by 12 points, Rozier visited 3-point city again and Coach Young’s team held a 15-point advantage with 4 minutes and 47 seconds remaining to be played.

Saint Ignatius, playing with the pride and grit that led them to an eighth-place ranking in The Plain Dealer’s Top 25 seven-county poll and such quality wins as triumphs over Canton McKinley, Pickerington Central (then ranked second in Ohio), St. Vincent-St. Mary, Benedictine, Central Catholic, Detroit Jesuit, Erie (Pa.) Cathedral Prep, Villa Angela-St. Joseph and Kenston, wouldn’t close its season without one last statement.

Two strong moves down low by Sloan gave the ‘Cats a ninth life and, after Santiago buried two free throws, Saint Ignatius trailed, 62-54, with 1:22 left.

Shaker Heights, The Plain Dealer’s third-ranked team, answered behind the free-throw shooting of Rozier and Leach and pulled away from Saint Ignatius at the foul line after a Santiago 3-pointer made it a nine-point game with 32.8 seconds left. The Wildcats went down attacking, however, as two determined layups by senior guard Max Connor kept Shaker from taking home a double-digit victory.

The Raiders, who got a team-high 22 points from Rozier, were 18-of-24 from the charity stripe, with half of those makes coming over the final eight minutes.

Sloan, who kept Saint Ignatius in the game throughout the first half and put on a clinic in determination around the basket, led all scorers with 28 points.

“These kids never quit, they were the model of resiliency,” said Coach O’Toole of his 2011-12 Wildcats. “They played the game within the game.”

*On a personal note, this corner would like to thank Coach O’Toole (now 66-26 after four seasons with his alma mater), his staff, Fr. Jack Murphy, the special young men who made up the 2011-12 ‘Cats and their families for the privilege of being associated with the program and reporting on its winter of success.

And thanks to SIBN Moderator Jeff McCormick ’83 and broadcasters John Fanta ’13, Greg Ziton ’13, Paddy White ’14, Paul Martin ’10, Trent Kennedy ’13 and Zach Weinreich ’12 for having me as the their halftime and second-period guest throughout the basketball and hockey seasons. My on the air hits included my 1,500 references to or updates on George DiCamillo. I’m just kidding, although that’s probably close.

Zach, John and I are getting our wood bats out of storage and getting ready for a new era in Wildcats baseball. God be willing, the corner will start its spring sports previews in about a week and a half.