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Cats turn back Kenston, 41-37, in a Division I sectional basketball final at Solon. George DiCamillo pins Marcus Windsor in the championship semifinals and now has a date with history on Saturday night. Tommy Zeigler wins his consolation quarterfinal.

By Eddie Dwyer, 03/02/12, 12:00AM EST

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Saint Ignatius' nationally acclaimed senior George DiCamillo pinned Marcus Windsor of Huber Heights Wayne in 1:36 during Friday night's Division I Championship Semifinals of the 75th OHSAA State Wrestling Championships at The Ohio State University.

The top-ranked 120-pounder in the nation, George will take a 36-0 record into Saturday night's state-championship match against Max Byrd (43-1) of Cincinnati LaSalle. Byrd defeated Ivan McClay of Massillon, 4-2, in Friday night's other 120-pound semifinal.

After extending his remarkable winning streak to 73 consecutive matches and his school-record career wins to 151, George will attempt to become the Wildcats' first two-time undefeated state champion. The 'Cats have had other two-time state champions, including Mike Buddie '89 who finished 39-0 in March 1989, but never a two-time undefeated state champ. DiCamillo went 35-0 last year en route to the Division I 112-pound state crown.

The Wildcats' Jim Ferritto lost his 106-pound Consolation Quarterfinal match on Friday night, 4-2 to Payton Gutierrez of Pickerington North, but Tommy Zeigler prevailed in his 113-pound Consolation Quarterfinal, 8-7 over Richie Screptock of Oregon Clay.

WILDCATS SURVIVE A STERN TEST FROM SIXTH-SEEDED KENSTON AND LEAVE COACH O’TOOLE FRUSTRATED ABOUT SEVERAL ASPECTS OF THE 41-37, SECTIONAL-FINAL VICTORY.

SAINT IGNATIUS (16-5) MOVES ON TO FACE SHAKER HEIGHTS (19-2) IN WHAT WILL BE A DISTRICT-SEMIFINAL MATCH UP BETWEEN SOLON’S SECOND (SHAKER HEIGHTS)- AND FOURTH-SEEDED TEAMS. THE TIP OFF FROM SOLON HIGH SCHOOL ON WEDNESDAY WILL BE 7 P.M.

BY EDDIE DWYER, COPYRIGHT MARCH 2012

Leaning against the wall in what was designated as Saint Ignatius’ locker room, Wildcats head of basketball Sean O’Toole ’87 did not have the appearance of a coach whose team had just advanced in the talent-rich Solon Division I sectional/district on Friday night.

The ‘Cats’ 41-37 sectional-final victory over what had been a very successful Kenston program this winter, definitely left Coach O’Toole frustrated.

“I’m not happy with the pace, I’m not happy with the consistency of the movement and I’m not happy with the shot selection,” said O’Toole after his team handed the Bombers only their second loss in 22 games this season. “It’s game 21, that should not even be an issue.”

Saint Ignatius (16-5), the eighth-ranked team in The Plain Dealer’s final Top 25 poll for 2011-12, came out in the first quarter and definitely played at a slower pace that suited Kenston more than it did the Wildcats.

Neither team was impressive in the early going as the first eight minutes ended in a 4-4 tie.

Saint Ignatius, which takes on Shaker Heights (19-2), The PD’s third-ranked team, in a district semifinal on Wednesday night, rode a 3-pointer by junior guard Francisco Santiago and a basket in transition from 6-foot-6 junior post Alec Papesch to a 9-5 lead early in the second quarter.

Kenston then turned to its Shell game, as three consecutive 3-pointers by senior guard Cody Shell put the Bombers in front, 14-11, with 2 minutes and 36 seconds remaining in the first half.

Sparked by the play of senior point guard Jack Tupa, Papesch and 6-5 junior forward/post Derek Sloan, the Wildcats went on an 8-2 run, only to watch Kenston tie score at 19 on a 3-pointer by 6-7 senior wing Pierce Cumpstone. It stayed that way entering the third quarter.

“Give Kenston credit, they’re a very good 20 and 2 for a reason,” said Coach O’Toole. “But at some point we have to make the plays. We settle for shots, we stand and stare and we don’t do what we need to do. It’s the consistency of doing the right stuff, and we don’t do it.”

The third quarter was about as even as you could ask for. The Bombers took a 23-21 lead on a basket by their strong and talented 6-10, 250-pound senior post Eric Truog and Saint Ignatius responded with a 3-point play by Sloan with 5:07 left in the quarter.

Sloan’s baby hook in the lane enabled the Wildcats to cling to a 28-26 lead entering the final eight minutes.

After Truog tied the score at 28 on an athletic put back, Saint Ignatius moved to a 34-28 advantage on 3-pointers by Santiago and senior wing Eric Williams.

Santiago twice gave the Wildcats their biggest lead of the night at seven points by scoring on a smooth left-handed drive off the glass and then pulling up off another drive and hitting a soft one-hander.

Following a savvy reaction by Cumpstone that saw him follow his own shot, Papesch made it a seven-point game again by hitting two free throws with 3:23 to go.

Kenston wasn’t about to fold, however, as the Bombers cut the deficit to three points on an authoritative move to the basket by Truog and a determined two points along the baseline by 5-10 sophomore guard Peter Rozman with 1:14 left.

The Bombers’ coaching staff and fans were upset that Shell wasn’t given credit for what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer with 8.43 seconds remaining. However, it appeared the officials made the correct call in ruling that Shell was fouled before he released the ball. Kenston would go on to miss the front end of 1-and-1 free-throw situation and Saint Ignatius held on behind a rebound and a free throw by Sloan.

“That team has very good players and they run very good sets,” Coach O’Toole said of the Bombers. “Defensively, there is no doubt that we worked very hard to have the score where it was. But offensively we have to be more fluid and we have to run harder. For us to win, it’s all about shot selection. We settled for shots and we’re lucky to win tonight.

“It’s on me. I’m the one that has to figure this out."

****AS WE HAVE BEEN REPORTING SINCE WEDNESDAY NIGHT, SAINT IGNATIUS' TOP-RANKED, 39-0 ICE HOCKEY TEAM WILL FACE WEST SIDE RIVAL ST. EDWARD (18-12-3) IN THE OHSAA BROOKLYN DISTRICT STATE-QUALIFYING GAME ON SATURDAY AT 3 P.M. IN THE JOHN M. COYNE RECREATION CENTER. IT WILL BE THE FOURTH MEETING BETWEEN THE WILDCATS AND THE EAGLES THIS SEASON, WITH SAINT IGNATIUS WINNING THE THREE PREVIOUS MATCHUPS - 4-3 IN OVERTIME AT WINTERHURST, 4-2 IN PROGRESSIVE FIELD AND 4-1 IN THE MEADVILLE (PA.) TOURNAMENT.

WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO ARRIVE EARLY, AS A TRIP TO NEXT WEEKEND'S STATE FINAL FOUR AT NATIONWIDE ARENA IN COLUMBUS IS ON THE LINE.