David Black, Derek Sloan and Jack Tupa jump start the 'Cats, who outscore Strongsville, 69-28, over the final three quarters. Black is a fine 9-for-9 from the field, Derek Sloan is a monster inside from the second quarter on and Tupa triggers the offensive fire power. Saint Ignatius finishes an impressive 30-for-45 on its 2-point shots.
Wildcats junior varsity also slows those Mustangs down with an 81-39 triumph. In matching the varsity's output, the jayvees improved to 10-2. Saint Ignatius' freshmen Blue Team made it a clean sweep by defeating Strongsville's freshmen, 48-39.
*The varsity wrestling team wins it triangular by defeating Mentor, 49-23, and Walsh Jesuit, 54-20, the varsity hockey team stands 31-0 after dominating Padua, 10-2, and the 'Cats' swimmers and divers outduel Mentor (see after basketball recaps).
BY EDDIE DWYER, COPYRIGHT JANUARY 2012
Just minutes after he scored a career-high and game-best 18 points, Saint Ignatius’ unflappable sophomore David Black displayed the same calm and confidence he brings to the court.
And a lot of humility to go along with a basketball savvy one doesn’t always see in a young player.
“Jack Tupa did a great job getting me the ball and I thought I did a pretty good job of finishing it,” said the 6-foot-5 Black, after his play down low helped ignite Saint Ignatius’ offense in the Wildcats’ 81-44 victory at Strongsville on Friday night.
Black, Tupa and Derek Sloan were more than pretty good, as they led a charge that deflated the Mustangs’ early optimism and, in the process, stunned and silenced a home crowd that was totally in the game for the first eight minutes.
Under the direction of veteran head coach Joe Lynch, a man with 500-plus career victories, Strongsville rode some strong perimeter shooting by senior forwards Sean Alexander and Jake Even to an early 8-0 lead and a 16-12 advantage entering the second quarter. Alexander buried two 3-pointers in the first eight minutes.
With Black working tirelessly to get open against the Mustangs’ 2-3 zone, Sloan, a gifted 6-4 junior post/forward, dominating the glass and Tupa, the 6-2 senior floor general, pushing the ball when the opportunity called for it and pulling it back when necessary, Saint Ignatius began to take Strongsville’s defense to a danger zone.
A soft, face-up jumper along the baseline by Black cut the deficit to 16-14 early in the second quarter.
Applying relentless half-court pressure on the ball and limiting the Mustangs to one contested shot each possession, the Wildcats rode a rainbow 3-pointer by junior guard Francisco Santiago, a strong driving one-hander by Tupa, another basket down low by Black and two free throws by Tupa to a 23-18 lead.
After a hustle recovery and a layup by junior guard Bryan Fisher, and a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Tupa, Saint Ignatius led, 28-20, at halftime.
It was more of the same in the second half, as the ‘Cats outscored Strongsville, 53-24, over the final 16 minutes.
“With the 2-3 zone, you can’t get as many inside shots,” said Black, who took full advantage of the opportunities he received by making all nine of his shots from the field and pulling down five rebounds. “Coach (Sean) O’Toole ‘87 pretty much said to keep moving the ball around and not to settle for outside shots and 3-point shots, to get it inside.”
Following its instructions perfectly, Saint Ignatius moved to a 10-point advantage when senior guard/ forward Eric Williams grabbed an offensive rebound and made a perfect feed inside to Black.
Sloan continued to have his way around the rim and, following a three-point play by Tupa that pushed the Wildcats' lead to 16 points in third quarter, the Mustangs appeared to be a bit winded.
Six-foot-6 junior post Alec Papesch scored of a sweet dish from Tupa, Kyle Berger, another member of the ‘Cats’ talented sophomore class, converted a steal into a layup, Sloan tallied two more points off a picture-perfect assist from senior forward Jack Mahoney, Santiago slashed his way to the rim and, after two more free throws by Tupa, Saint Ignatius took a 22-point lead into the final eight minutes.
That margin was stretched to 60-34 early in the fourth quarter after Santiago drained the bottom of the net with another trey and Williams scored off a follow.
On came Saint Ignatius’ second and third rotations and they were no picnic either. Senior guard Max Connor’s two three-point plays and nine points, including a three-point play, by junior forward Austin Sterpka put a sealer on the 37-point victory.
Sloan totaled a double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds and Tupa had 12 points and eight assists.
“We actually practiced against it a lot this week,” said Tupa of the Mustangs’ zone defense. “Our emphasis was to get the ball down low and build our confidence. Once we did that, it was game over.”
The Wildcats will have little time to savor the victory, as the big, strong and defensive-minded Walsh Jesuit Warriors come to Sullivan Gymnasium Saturday night with an identical record to that of Saint Ignatius – 9-2.
Coach O’Toole singled out Black’s versatility as an offensive player and how David entered the game near the midway point of the first quarter, got into the flow and “jump-started us.”
“I thought (Eric) Williams off the bench again gave us good minutes and what can you say about Tups (Tupa)?” Coach O’Toole continued. “Jack Tupa gets everybody easy baskets and they should all take him to dinner after games because he serves it on a platter. You just have to take it and finish it.”
JV Game: Eric Black, David's twin brother, led an array of 'Cats in the scoring column with 10 points. Kyle Berger, Ryan Napoli and Isiah Barbra each scored nine and Jacob Strippy and John Thomas finished with 8 and 7 points, respectively, in what was a 42-point victory over the 'Stangs.
HOCKEY: Coach Pat O’Rourke’s Ice ‘Cats improved to 31-0 by overwhelming the Padua Bruins, 10-2, at the Hoover Arena in Strongsville on Friday night.
Senior Mike Abood led an eight-goal barrage in the second period with a natural hat trick and four lamp lighters. Senior mainstays Paddy Spellacy and Liam Geither each scored twice, with Geither adding to his single-season school record, which now stands at 51 goals.
The Wildcats return home to the Brooklyn John M. Coyne Recreation Center on Saturday to face the Shaker Heights Raiders in another Red North Division game. The puck will drop at 4:45 p.m.
WRESTLING: Wildcats standout 120-pounder George DiCamillo, ranked No. 1 in the nation in his weight class, stretched his remarkable winning streak to 61 consecutive matches, as the Virginia Cavaliers recruit recorded a pin and a decision in Saint Ignatius’ triangular victories over Mentor and Walsh Jesuit in Sullivan Gym on Friday night.
Other major highlights for Coach Mark Sullivan’s team were a 2-0 overtime decision and a pin by gifted 106-pounder Jimmy Ferritto, two pins by talented Tommy Zeigler at 113 pounds, two pins by the ‘Cats’ unsung 152-pounder Nick Lees, a pin and a decision by promising 170-pounder Anthony McLaughlin, a pin and a forfeit victory by Scott Chase at 182, a pin and a forfeit victory by Brett Bendokaitis at 195 and a pin and a forfeit victory by Isen Vajusi at 220.
SWIMMING AND DIVING: St. Ignatius 190, Mentor 106.
200MR: SI (Libertin, Hutchison, Simcox, Pophal) 1:45.87. 200 free: Krivanek (SI) 1:58.85. 200IM: Libertin (SI) 2:14.33. 50 free: Simcox (SI) 22.43. Diving: Carmichael (SI) 261.45. 100 fly: Christian (SI) 54.88. 100 free: Chamberlain (SI) 52.30. 500 free: Pearson (SI) 5:31.35. 200FR: SI (Hren, Hutchinson, Simcox, Chamberlain) 1:32.52. 100 back: Hren (SI) 1:01.43. 100 breast: Kopan (Men), 1:10.54. 400FR: SI (Simcox, Chamberlain, Pophal, Libertin) 3:32.7.