From The Trueman Memorial Fieldhouse on the campus of Benedictine High School
Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard - After his young Wildcats won for the 10th time in 12 games this season, Saint Ignatius' Freshmen Gold Head Basketball Coach Tom Parker addressed some early game issues and then it was nothing but praise.
"I don't like to start off with something negative after a victory, but we had nine turnovers in the first quarter," said the former Saint Ignatius basketball standout. "A few were aggressive turnovers, but I'm going to continue to stress the importance of valuing the ball. We cut down on the turnovers in the second quarter and you saw what happened."
With Saint Ignatius on top of its game defensively, the Gold 'Cats, taking advantage of the opportunities presented to them by defensive steals and stops, put together a 14-0 run and led, 14-2, late in the opening quarter.
The 14 unanswered points were fueled by two free throws from Justin Lazuka, a steal by Cooper Lyons and a layup by Declan Mangan off a sweet dish from multiskilled post Aidan Hubbard
Other highlights from the early run included a sweeping layup by Mangan, a strong baseline drive from Lazuka, a steal and a layup by JP Tijanich, and a floating one-hander down the lane courtesy of Emmett Hanna.
Benedictine, which slipped to 2-5 this winter, benefitted from some nice hustle by guard Ja'Wahn Howard and closed to 14-6 on a smooth baseline jumper by Howard. Howard played a key role in forcing some of the Wildcats' early turnovers.
Saint Ignatius answered Howard's basket with an authoritative move down low by Nick Lamirand, only to watch the Bengals' Myles Byrd make it an eight-point game heading into the second quarter off his jumper in transition.
"Our defense was there all night," Coach Parker said. "We held them to two points in the second quarter and we started valuing the basketball. This was definitely one of our best overall games this season."
The second-quarter dominance by Saint Ignatius took the roar out of the young Bengals, as Hubbard started the 22-2 barrage with a basket down low off his excellent footwork.
What was a decisive 20-0 run also included a 3-pointer from Lyons, a breakaway layup by Tijanich off an assist from Lazuka, Mangan's layup off a turnover, a basket by Lamirand via a picture-perfect assist from Kendall McClain, a putback by Kieran Farnan, a steal and a layup from the endless hustle of Michael Morgan, a give and go assist by Morgan on a Hanna layup, and a deep baseline 3-pointer by Morgan.
After Benedictine scored its only points of the second quarter on a layup by Tex Cooper, Morgan's jump shot beat the buzzer and the Gold 'Cats took a 38-10 lead into the halftime break.
The Bengals would score the first points of the second half off a 3-pointer from Howard, but the highlight-reel kept flowing with Gold 'Cats.
Providing the closing act for the overpowering performance by Coach Parker's team was the free-throw shooting by Joshua Lanier, a strong drive to the rim by Mangan, a 3-pointer from Tijanich, a spin move down low by Hubbard, a clever display of footwork and ball handling on a basket by Peter Fitzpatrick, who hustled on defense all night, another trey by Morgan, a 3-pointer from McClain, two baskets by Alex Garcia, and two free throws off the sure hands of Alec Laspina.
Morgan and the Bengals' Byrd each finished with 10 points, Mangan totaled eight points and Lazuka and Tijanich both tossed in seven points.
Up next for the Gold 'Cats is Saturday's 4 PM matchup with the Freshmen Ironmen from Cleveland Central Catholic in Father Sullivan Gymnasium.