Sloan and Santiago combine for 39 points, as the varisty Wildcats prevail, 72-46, late Tuesday afternoon and improve to 14-5 on the season.

The JV recap follows the varsity game story.

BY EDDIE DWYER, COPYRIGHT FEBRUARY 2012

After he helped lead Saint Ignatius to its 14th victory in 19 games this season, multi-talented junior guard Francisco Santiago talked about the experience of playing on an NBA floor.

“You see these guys (the Cavaliers) on TV all of the time, playing on this court,” Santiago said, after his offensive outbursts in the second and third quarters played a decisive role in the Wildcats’ 72-46 triumph over the John Adams Rebels at Quicken Loans Arena. “This is a big floor. You always have dreams as a kid of playing on a court like this.”

“Cisco” not only had a dream come true on Tuesday afternoon, he added a few storied lines to moments that some day he can share with his children and grandchildren.

Santiago, combining with fellow junior Derek Sloan in fueling Saint Ignatius’ offense, helped discourage the Rebels’ cause just when the team from Cleveland’s Senate Athletic League was attempting to make a statement, if you will.

With John Adams (7-11) trailing by just six points early in the second quarter, the 6-5 Sloan soared to Slam City and threw down two of his game-high 21 points. Fourteen of those points came in the first 16 minutes.

Santiago, who has a high-arcing shot that is so soft the rim doesn’t even get a chance to get acquainted with it, followed Sloan’s slam with the first of his two offensive flurries – a smooth running one-hander, a nothing-but-net 3-pointer and a driving one-hander off the glass that extended the Wildcats’ lead to 28-15. “Cisco” was right behind Sloan in the scoring column with 18 points.

After Sloan connected on 1 of 2 free throws, 6-6 junior post Alec Papesch scored off a strong offensive rebound and Sloan sent home a put back, Saint Ignatius held a 33-20 lead at halftime.

“They were playing pretty tight on me, so I drove a couple of times, went past them and got some easy buckets,” Santiago said. “In the second half they laid off me and it’s easy when you get hot. You see a shot go in and then another one and another one, and your confidence builds up. And that’s exactly what happened.”

What happened in the third quarter was pretty much the undoing of John Adams, which got 12-point efforts from Archie Patrick and Devin Robinson.

The Wildcats, ranked ninth in this week’s Plain Dealer Top 25 poll, sandwiched three of Santiago’s four 3-pointers around a three-point play in transition by Sloan and, en route to a 53-32 lead entering the fourth quarter, got another basket from Papesch, a follow by Sloan that saw him put his exceptional hops on display and two free throws by senior guard and Illinois football recruit Mike Svetina.

Saint Ignatius, which closes its regular season on Saturday night at 15th-ranked Benedictine, left no doubt, as Papesch scored again, “Cisco” and Sloan delivered driving layups, 6-5 sophomore post David Black came up with an athletic follow, senior guard Max Connor went to the basket with authority, Svetina buried a 3-pointer, senior guard/wing Reggie Gross added a steal and a layup, and junior wing Austin Sterpka hit a frosting-on-the-cake 3-pointer.

“Obviously when you play this many guys, it’s a little sloppier than you would have liked,” said Wildcats head coach Sean O’Toole ’87, who will guide his fourth-seeded team in the talent-rich Solon sectional/district on March 2 at 6 p.m. Saint Ignatius will face the winner of the Feb. 28th sectional semifinal between Euclid and The Plain Dealer’s 18th-ranked Kenston Bombers (19-1). The Bombers are the sixth seed.

“I’m looking for us to be consistent and we’re still working towards that goal,” Coach O’Toole continued. “To hang around at Solon, we’re going to have to be consistent. That’s for sure.”

SAINT IGNATIUS’ JUNIOR-VARSITY TEAM WEARS DOWN JOHN ADAMS, 57-41, AND WALKS OUT OF THE Q WITH ITS 10TH CONSECUTIVE VICTORY.

The Wildcats' jayvees started the game with a 9-0 run that featured baskets by sophomore forward Dameon Willis Jr., 6-6 sophomore post Eric Black, another basket by Willis Jr. and two points from sophomore forward Kyle Berger.

John Adams closed to 10-6 on a basket by Juwan Gambrell, only to watch another Wildcats run that was fueled by a basket from 6-3 sophomore post/forward Cole Larson, a driving two-pointer by sophomore guard Matt Ivancic and a 3-pointer from sophomore forward Kyle Gaydemski.

Saint Ignatius (17-2), which wraps up its JV season at Benedictine on Saturday night, extended its lead to 21-8 on driving one-handers down the lane by Larson and sophomore guard Ryan Linker.

John Adams closed to 21-11 on a 3-pointer by Venson Price and the Wildcats responded with a layup by Larson off Black’s assist. The Rebels’ Ordell Tyson converted a three-point play, but the ‘Cats answered with a basket by 6-4 sophomore post Jacob Strippy and a put back by Berger.

After a layup by John Adams’ Uris Solomon, Strippy scored off another follow and Saint Ignatius led, 29-18, at halftime.

The Rebels, who played in front of an enthusiastic group of supporters, made it a nine-point game on a one-hander in the lane by Tyson early in the second half.

Keeping their composure, the ‘Cats’ gifted sophomores regained control on a 3-pointer by forward Isiah Barbra, a driving layup by Ivancic, two free throws from post Pete Mahoney and two baskets by forward Ogo Okolo.

Saint Ignatius then settled the issue in the fourth quarter behind a Strippy layup off another Black assist, a steal by Larson that led to a Ryan Napoli-to-Ivancic two-pointer, a three -point play by Mahoney off a strong move across the lane, a steal and two free throws by Barbra, and a 3-pointer from guard John Thomas.

Gambrell and Wesley Black led all scorers with 12 and 9 points, respectively, and Strippy’s eight points led the 13 Wildcats who reached the scoring column.