It’s never easy to make another deep run in a postseason tournament, and that means sometimes having to play as an underdog or a sleeper team. Though the Wildcats are the top team in Northeast Ohio in the cleveland.com boys basketball Top 25, the Saint Ignatius varsity basketball team is a sleeper team as the postseason approaches.
Despite holding a solid 11-4 record and wins over Warren Harding, Saint Vincent-Saint Mary, St. Edward, the Wildcats have not received any love from the AP State poll this season, not once appearing in the Division I top ten.
The Wildcats’ four losses can largely be blamed for the lack of love, as those four losses are stingers for the Wildcats right now. However, those losses have taught the Wildcats lessons that will prove valuable in the postseason.
With that being said, let’s take a look at where this year’s Wildcats are as they begin the final stretch of the season.
Even with the four losses, the Wildcats are the number one team in the Cleveland-Akron area for a reason. The Basketball Cats have knocked off teams who annually make deep tournament runs in St. Edward, Northland, Warren G. Harding, Saint Vincent-Saint Mary, and Cleveland Central Catholic. This Saint Ignatius team has looked like a ballclub fit to play in Columbus on March 23. As a team, the Wildcats are shooting 50% from the field, including 36% from behind the arc and 70% at the charity stripe.
The Wildcats, currently on a three-game win streak, begin this final stretch of basketball versus Cleveland Heights. The Tigers have shown major growth over the season since defeating the Wildcats on December 3, 66-65. Ranked third in the Lake Erie League, Cleveland Heights is led by Ohio State football recruit Jaylen Harris and fellow Division 1 football recruit Tyreke Smith. The duo’s football agility transfers nicely to the court, as the phenomenal athletes are quick and elusive in the lane. Harris put up 20 points on the Wildcats the first time around at Maple Heights High School. The Tigers also have a lights out three-point shooter in Yahel Hill, who went 4-for-7 vs. Saint Ignatius back in December and finished with 22 points.
On Friday, February 10, the Wildcats meet the Eagles from St. Edward for the second time this year. The first matchup with Coach Eric Flannery’s squad ended with a Saint Ignatius win, thanks to a late comeback in the fourth quarter that included a huge Matt Davet buzzer-beater off the glass to force overtime. Saint Ignatius then outscored the Eagles in the overtime period, 12-2, to win 90-80.
After the overtime loss, St. Edward has won two of three with wins over Lorain and Villa Angela-Saint Joseph. The Eagles’ loss came to Saint John’s Jesuit, who beat the Eagles for the second year in a row. In St. Edward’s most recent 75-41 win over VASJ, freshman Grant Huffman put up 16 points. One player that the Wildcats have to watch out for is Tommy Schmock. Schmock put up an impressive 12 points in the loss to Saint Ignatius, but in the huge win over VASJ, Schmock was held to just 4 points. The senior is the key for a St. Edward win.
The night after the St. Edward game features a matchup with the Wildcats and Solon Comets at Sullivan Gym. The two schools met last year in the Regional Semifinal, a game that the Wildcats won, 64-45, to move onto the Regional Final.
This year, Solon has a chance to make a deep run again, as the Comets are currently 12-5 and are led by electric scorers in Sincere Carry and Michael Bekelja, who have been averaging 15 points per game. Solon’s biggest win of the season came in a successful trip to Canton, as Solon beat McKinley by double digits, 76-63.
The final four games are against other solid winning programs. The Washington Tigers will come to Sullivan Gym for the first time since 2009, when the Wildcats won 83-33. However, this time the Tigers are ready to give Saint Ignatius a battle. Washington currently stands at 11-4 with big wins over Louisville, SPIRE Institute, and McKinley. The Tigers are led by Ohio State Football recruit Thayer Munford, who is a major presence underneath at 6’7’’, a great matchup for Austen Yarian and Matt Davet.
The following day, Saint Ignatius will head south to take on the defending OHSAA Division 1 State Champions, the Westerville South Wildcats. This game will be a telling moment for Saint Ignatius, as it will be a primetime matchup at Westerville South High School versus one of the state’s best.
At 12-2, Westerville South has defeated Garfield Heights, Gahanna Lincoln, and Huntington (WV) St. Joseph’s Prep, all big wins on their resume. Westerville South’s players to watch will be Jake Garrison and Caleb Caldwell, who have been vital for the defending state champs this season, in addition to big man and Ohio State recruit Kaleb Wesson, who stands at 6’9.”
In the final two games of the season, the Wildcats have a chance to do some home cooking against Benedictine and Kenston. If there is no severe snow on February 21, the Wildcats and Bengals will finally matchup together after the game getting postponed twice. Currently, Benedictine sits at 12-3 and is ranked 9th in the cleveland.com Boys Basketball Top 25. The Bengals lost to St. Edward and twice to Archbishop Hoban for their only losses of the season, which on paper don’t look good, but that doesn’t take away from their aggressive play. The Wildcats look to get revenge on the loss last season over on the East side, where Benedictine beat the ‘Cats 54-46. The Bengals are led this year by Chris Jefferson and Marlon Moore, who put up 18 and 16 points, respectivelym in their big 66-63 win over Villa Angela-Saint Joseph.
Senior Night will be on Friday, February 24 as the Wildcats will take on a solid 11-5 Kenston team, a ballclub that the Wildcats defeated last season 74-65.
This will be a very fun final stretch of the season, and the next two games will weigh heavily on the Strongsville District seeding on February 12 to decide who will be the #1 seed – Saint Ignatius or St. Edward? However, after last season, that seeding does not matter a whole lot. But this is the time that the Wildcats can peak and begin playing their best basketball of the season against tough teams in the state of Ohio.
See you Saturday night inside “Sully” as the Wildcats look to split the season series with Cleveland Heights at 7:00. The SIBN will have live video of every remaining regular season game the rest of the way with Matt MacKenzie ‘18 and Brendan DeVenney ‘17 on the call.