IT ALL ADDED UP TO AN IMPRESSIVE 13-POINT VICTORY OVER A DEEP AND SKILLED LORAIN TEAM IN SULLIVAN GYMNASIUM ON SATURDAY NIGHT.
SLOAN'S 19 POINTS LEAD FOUR WILDCATS IN DOUBLE FIGURES, AS TUPA DISHES OUT MULTIPLE ASSISTS.
JV 'CATS STAND 6-1. SEE BELOW.
*HERE WE GO AGAIN! SEE AFTER BASKETBALL STORY.
BY EDDIE DWYER, COPYRIGHT JANUARY 2012
As his Wildcats were preparing for a four-plus hour overnight trip to the Dayton area, Saint Ignatius head basketball coach Sean O’Toole ’87 talked about what it means to his team to have its floor general back.
“I really think the difference tonight, and we’ve been waiting for this, is that Jack Tupa takes us up a notch,” O’Toole said after the Wildcats defeated a deep and potent Lorain team, 73-60, in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd in Sullivan Gymnasium on Saturday night. “His vision is second to none, his willingness to share is second to none and his ability to find guys is second to none.
“Jack is a veteran and he is so intelligent that he just knows what we’re doing,” Coach O’Toole continued. “And the other guys will tell you that.”
What Tupa, a gifted 6-foot-2 senior point guard and three-year varsity player will tell you is that he isn’t quite there yet after suffering a broken bone in his foot and missing part of the preseason and the first month of the regular season (four games).
While that is probably true, you would have a hard time selling it to the coaching staff at Lorain.
With Tupa triggering a Saint Ignatius offense that was effective down low, on the perimeter and in transition, the Wildcats won their fifth consecutive game and will take a 6-1 record into Sunday’s 10th anniversary of the Good Samaritan Flyin’ To The Hoop Tournament at Trent Arena in Kettering, Ohio. Saint Ignatius will face Huber Heights Wayne at 1:15 p.m.
Lorain, which like the Wildcats plays a demanding schedule, slipped to 5-4.
“That team is as potent as any team we play,” said Coach O’Toole of Coach Andy Bastock’s Titans.
Saint Ignatius, ranked 11th in The Plain Dealer’s seven-county Top 25 poll, rode the second of three first-half 3-pointers by senior guard Brian Joseph off an assist by Tupa and a layup by junior forward Matt Gawlik off another of Tupa’s double-digit assists to a 21-12 lead after the first eight minutes.
The Wildcats, behind a soft baseline jumper by multi-skilled 6-4 junior post/forward Derek Sloan and a layup by 6-5 sophomore post David Black off senior guard/forward Eric Williams’ hustle rebound and assist, maintained their nine-point advantage early on in the second quarter.
Lorain, the area’s 23rd ranked program, caught fire midway through the second stanza and cut the deficit to four points on the second of two 3-pointers by senior guard Brandon Davis and two almost identical baby hooks in the lane by 6-6 senior post Jonathan Parker.
Coach O’Toole’s team had the answer again, however, and held an eight-point lead at halftime after Sloan hit three free throws (fouled on a 3-point attempt), Joseph buried his third 3-pointer and 6-6 junior post Alec Papesch converted two free throws.
“Now that we’re at full strength, we have the ability to score and Jack will make it easier for some guys,” Coach O’Toole said.
Nothing was easy in the third quarter, as the Wildcats the Titans, teams with exceptional depth, went at each other tooth and nail.
Lorain went on a 7-0 run and cut the deficit to 37-36 on a 3-pointer by senior guard A.J. Craighead.
Wildcats junior guard Francisco Santiago responded with his own trey and Saint Ignatius added two free throws by Black and a slam-dunk by Sloan off a Williams assist.
The Titans made sure they were remembered, as they trailed by just three points with 1 minute and 56 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Saint Ignatius, in what was a sign of things to come, kept its composure and, thanks to a steal by Papesch, a layup by Tupa off a dish from Joseph and two more points from Sloan courtesy of another Tupa assist, moved to a 50-43 lead entering the final eight minutes.
Joseph, who now has 16 3-pointers on the season, thanked his dad, Larry, for the extra time he spent with him in the gym this week and emphasized that because his teammates were finding seams in the Titans’ defense, Saint Ignatius was able to kick the ball out to him for good looks.
Things were all good in the fourth quarter for the ‘Cats as their help defense, fueled by Williams and Co., began to take its toll on Lorain.
After Tupa buried two free throws, Williams, whose outstanding play at quarterback helped lead Saint Ignatius to a record 11th Division I state football championship in early December, forced a turnover and the Wildcats were roaring.
Sloan delivered another basket off a Tupa assist, a play the Titans’ faithful were growing weary of, Joseph converted a steal into two free throws, Black made a strong move off a follow, Williams drove the baseline with authority for two points and, after Papesch scored six points, four of them coming off picture-perfect passes from junior point guard Bryan Fisher and Williams, Saint Ignatius was in command at 73-53 with 1:50 left.
The Wildcats were led by Sloan’s game-high 19 points. Papesch scored 15, Joseph tallied 11 and Black, who plays with exceptional poise for a sophomore, finished with 10 points.
Craighead had 16 points in leading Lorain and Davis and 6-4 senior wing Jerome Golson each tossed in 12 points for the Titans.
“Eric Williams, Brian Joseph, David Black, these guys are coming off the bench and giving starters efforts,” Coach O’Toole said. “They understand their roles and they accept them. We have 18 guys and I wish I could play all of them. But we’ve cut it to a nice 10 or 11-man rotation at this point and when push comes to shove in the fourth quarter, it goes down to eight or seven. And I’m comfortable with it. Our coaches have done a great job getting them ready.”
SAINT IGNATIUS AND ST. EDWARD WILL MEET FOR THIRD TIME SINCE DEC. 15 WHEN THEY CLASH IN SUNDAY’S SEMIFINALS OF THE ANNUAL MEADVILLE BULLDOG INVITATIONAL IN DeARMENT ICE ARENA.
THE PUCK WILL DROP AT 10 A.M.
THE WILDCATS, WHO HAVE DEFEATED ST. EDWARD IN TWO REGUALR-SEASON CLASSICS THIS WINTER – 4-3 IN OVERTIME AT WINTERHURST AND 4-2 ON THE OUTDOOR RINK IN PROGRESSIVE FIELD, ADVANCED TO THE SEMIFINALS BY DEFEATING MEADVILLE, 7-1, AND SENECA VALLEY, 6-1, DURING SATURDAY’S SECOND ROUND. SAINT IGNATIUS WILL TAKE A 26-0 RECORD INTO SUNDAY’S GAME.
COACH PAT O’ROURKE’S TEAM IS SEEKING ITS THIRD CONSECUTIVE MEADVILLE CHAMPIONSHIP AND SIXTH OVERALL.
SAINT IGNATIUS' JUNIOR VARSITY BASKETBALL TEAM RALLIES PAST LORAIN'S JAYVEES, 51-47.
The JV 'Cats (6-1) trailed, 39-36, after three quarters. Eric Black's 3-pointer and a three-point play by Eric Black, David's twin brother, put Saint Ignatius in front, 42-39, with 5:39 remaining. The three-point play came off a nice assist by Dameon Willis Jr.
Two free throws by Kyle Berger pushed the Wildcats' lead to 50-45 with 33 seconds to go and, after Lorain scored with 8.3 seconds left, Saint Ignatius sealed the deal on a free throw by guard Ryan Napoli.
AND LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, THE CORNER CONGRATULATES COACH CHUCK KYLE '69 AND HIS 2011 DIVISION I STATE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS, WHO WERE PRESENTED WITH A TROPHY FROM MAXPREPS FOR FINISHING 15TH IN THE NATION IN MAXPREPS' FINAL POLL. THE PRESENTATION TOOK PLACE DURING HALFTIME OF THE VARSITY BASKETBALL GAME AND WAS PART OF MAXPREPS' TOUR OF CHAMPIONS, WHICH IS PRESENTED BY THE NATIONAL GUARD.
IN THE WINTER OF 2009, COACH KYLE WAS PRESENTED WITH A NATIONAL RUNNER-UP TROPHY FROM MAXPREPS AFTER THE WILDCATS CAPTURED THEIR 10TH BIG-SCHOOl TITLE IN THE 2008 SEASON. THE 'CATS HAVE WON THREE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS UNDER KYLE - 1989, 1993 AND 1995.
SAINT IGNATIUS WILL HONOR ITS RECORD 2011, "11 IN '11" STATE CHAMPS DURING THE ANNUAL FOOTBALL BANQUET ON TUESDAY AT 5 P.M. IN THE MURPHY FIELDHOUSE.