Saturday night’s contest inside Sullivan Gymnasium provided a great tune up for the final stretch for the Saint Ignatius basketball team. The Wildcats took on a rising team in the Lawyers from John Marshall. It may have been one-sided most of the game, but the Wildcats were able to get a lot out of a big 70-45 win.
John Marshall, now 8-8 on the year, did not poise a big threat when it came to size, however the Lawyers had a hot hand at times from behind the arc. Rufus Harris proved to be the main player to watch if you were the Wildcats. Harris was red-hot shooting the ball, putting up 18 points on 7-for-18 shooting for the Lawyers.
Saint Ignatius started out the game on an 8-0 run that ended when Quentin Williams drained a three-pointer to put John Marshall on the board with 6:02 remaining.
Austen Yarian got going early defensively and offensively, notching two big steals and helped to stretch the Wildcats’ lead in the first quarter 5:23 left to play. However after that, John Marshall would make a run of its own, as Quentin Williams, one of the Lawyers’ leaders, cut the lead to 14-12 with three minutes remaining in the first period.
But the Wildcats finished the first quarter on a 6-0 run and held a good lead the rest of the way. Saint Ignatius acquired its largest lead at the 4:40 mark, as Austen Yarian lobbed a touchdown pass to Luke Wiskes to make the lead 11, and with that the Wildcats were on a roll. At halftime, it was 36-24 Wildcats and John Marshall went into the half with some question marks. Rufus Harris was leading the way with 13 first half points on 5-for-8 shooting and two three-pointers.
Saint Ignatius started to pull away in the second half. Michael Spear hit a big three ball in the third period to stretch the lead to 20, 49-29, with 3:08 to play.
Head coach Brian Becker ‘77 put out an interesting lineup with 3:50 left in the third quarter, as the Wildcats had three men above 6’7”. Austen Yarian, Matt Davet, and Kevin Davet were all out on the floor at the same time, and worked out well, as Kevin Davet got his first two points of his eight on the night.
The fourth quarter was all about getting playing time for team’s supporting cast. Luke Wiskes enjoyed a breakout night with 16 points on 7-for-7 shooting, making another start this season. Josh Ozanne had a big second half along with sophomore Kevin Davet.
In the end, Saint Ignatius knocked off John Marshall, 70-45, for win No. 11 on the year. Matt Davet was once again the leading scorer with 18 points. His comrade Austen Yarian finished with 12 points, and Spear hit three three-pointers as part of a 10-pointnight.
This win now gets the Wildcats ready for a huge stretch of basketball to end the season, starting on Tuesday night with a game against a 12-3 Benedictine Bengals ballclub. That game was rescheduled from December 2 for the State Championship football game. Saint Ignatius looks to get revenge on the Bengals after last season’s 54-46 loss at Benedictine.
Following that game, the Wildcats will get set for a rematch with the Cleveland Heights Tigers on Saturday. The Tigers defeated Saint Ignatius 66-65 in the first game of the season in the Great Lakes Classic. Since then, the Tigers have gone 10-5, with big wins over Cornerstone Christian Academy, Warren G. Harding, Lutheran East, and Wayne.
The following weekend features a rematch with St. Edward in Lakewood, then the Wildcats welcome the Comets of Solon for a rematch of last season’s Regional Semifinal, a game the Wildcats won with ease, 64-45.
Then, the final two weekends take the Wildcats down to Westerville for a matchup with the defending Division 1 State Champion Westerville South Wildcats, who currently stand at 12-5. Then, Senior Night will be held on February 24 for the regular season finale with the Kenston Bombers.
Big games are ahead for the Wildcats, a team looking to make a surge into the postseason.
THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS: We would like to send our thoughts and prayers to the young John Marshall Lawyer who suffered a concussion with 2:49 remaining in the third quarter going for a rebound underneath his own basket. He was taken to Fairview Hospital, where he was diagnosed and later released on Saturday night. We wish him and his family the best on a speedy recovery and only the best moving forward.
We also would like to extend our thoughts and prayers to the family of a young Mentor Cardinal Football player who lost a battle to a rare form of cancer. Our deepest condolences to his family and the entire Mentor High School community in this time of grieving.
Please keep these two men and their families in your prayers in the coming weeks.