LORAIN HAS SIZE AND GOES 10 DEEP. AFTER A ROUGH START, HUBER HEIGHTS WAYNE HAS WON TWO IN A ROW.
BY EDDIE DWYER, COPYRIGHT JANUARY 2012
The things opponents remember after playing the Titans of Lorain High School are the three complementary strengths that Coach Andy Bastock’s basketball team brings to its attack – skill, size and depth.
Sound familiar?
Lorain (5-3), ranked 23rd in The Plain Dealer’s seven-county Top 25 poll, will take on a program that possesses all of the above when it travels to Sullivan Gymnasium on Saturday night to face 11th-ranked Saint Ignatius (5-1).
Action will get underway with a junior varsity tipoff at 6, followed by the varsity game at approximately 7:30. The Saint Ignatius Student Broadcasting Network will provide live audio and video coverage, with John Fanta ’13 and Paddy White ’14 describing the junior varsity game and Lewis Backus ’12 and Greg Ziton ’13 calling the varsity tilt.
“They are a very, very deep team, probably as deep a team as we will play,” said Wildcats head coach Sean O’Toole ’87 of the Titans. “They play 10 guys and there is not a drop off with those 10 guys. They have exceptional quickness, they shoot it, they drive it and they post. They score in every way. And defensively they’re athletic with good man pressure and they anticipate and rebound well.”
Coach O’Toole emphasized that Lorain is very similar to some of the other teams the Wildcats have played this winter, including such storied names as St. Vincent-St. Mary, Warren G. Harding and Canton McKinley.
Both the Titans and the Wildcats have lost to Harding this season, with Saint Ignatius, playing without two of its key players, losing in the final seconds at Warren, 39-36, and Lorain falling at home, 52-38.
The Wildcats, whose lineup returned to full strength last weekend with the return of gifted senior point guard Jack Tupa, are coming off an impressive 55-45 victory over six-time state champion and defending Division II king St. Vincent-St. Mary. Saint Ignatius has won four in a row.
Coach Bastock’s Titans have won their last two outings, 74-70 over Bedford on Jan. 6 and 73-64 against Sandusky on Tuesday night.
Leading Coach Bastock’s 10-man, share-the-wealth rotation is versatile 6-foot-2 senior guard and double-digit scorer Brandon Davis. Davis is complemented by 6-4 junior Louis Cheers; 6-4 seniors Jerome Golson and Thomas Wimbush; 5-10 junior Andre Phillips; 6-0 senior Demetrius Bennett; 5-11 junior Rolland Scales; 5-9 senior A.J. Craighead and 6-6 seniors Teddy Wilson and Jonathan Parker.
With its depth, Lorain will play four post players, two at a time, and six guards, three at a time.
“They have a lot of confidence, a lot of senior leadership and high expectations after going to the district finals last year,” said Coach O’Toole of the Titans. “They’re a tough matchup for us.”
On Sunday afternoon, Saint Ignatius will be at Trent Arena in Kettering, Ohio to face the Warriors from Huber Heights Wayne in the 10th anniversary of the Good Samaritan Flyin’ To The Hoop Tournament. The SIBN's audio-only coverage will begin at 1:15.
Veteran Wildcats fans will recall that Saint Ignatius won the eighth of its record 11 Division I state football championships by defeating Huber Heights Wayne in the 1999 title game.
Wayne is under the direction of Coach Travis Trice, whose son, Travis, was the Gatorade Ohio High School Basketball Player of the Year last season and is currently a freshman at Michigan State. The Warriors are 3-7 heading into Thursday night’s game against Centerville.
A member of the Greater Western Ohio Conference’s Central Division, Wayne won its opener, lost seven in a row and currently has won back-to-back games. The Warriors defeated a 1-10 Sidney team, 98-59, on Tuesday night.
Leading Wayne this season are guards Keith Clements, a senior, and Juan Ford, a sophomore.
Entering this weekend’s action, 6-6 junior post Alec Papesch (13.4 points, 7.8 rebounds) and 6-4 junior post/forward Derek Sloan (13.3 points, 7.8 rebounds) continue to lead Saint Ignatius. Junior guard Francisco Santiago is averaging 7.8 points and 3.8 assists and senior guard Brian Joseph is at 7.7 points per game and has dropped in 13 3-pointers.
****CONGRATULATIONS GO OUT TO FORMER SAINT IGNATIUS STATE CHAMPION DAVID HABAT '10, WHO WAS RECENTLY RANKED AMONG THE TOP 10 NCAA DIVISION I WRESTLERS IN THE NATION AT 149 POUNDS. DAVID IS A REDSHIRT FRESHMAN AT EDINBORO.