From the Viking Village Arena on the campus of Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School
After his Freshman Blue 'Cats came away with a hard-earned overtime victory in one of Northeast Ohio's historic high school venues on Wednesday night, Head Coach Regan Sweeney '11 said that although it wasn't the prettiest game by his team this season, it was a victory that said a lot about the mental toughness that his young and promising Wildcats bring to the court.
The Blue 'Cats, trailing by four points with 3 minutes and 34 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, rallied behind a deep corner 3-pointer by guard Nick Longano, two free throws from post Henry Raynor and a basket down low by Raynor off an assist from gritty and gifted forward Chris Snyder.
Leading, 42-39, with 12.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Coach Sweeney's team had to call on its composure and mental toughness one more time after Villa Angela-St. Joseph's relentless guard Lorenzo Nettles beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer that forced overtime.
The four-minute overtime saw the Freshmen Vikings strike first on two free throws by post Terrell Harvell off a 1-and-1 situation, only to watch a basket by Blue 'Cats guard Jack Dunstan even the score again.
Dunstan's basket was the start of a take-charge 12-2 run by Saint Ignatius that included a smooth hook shot in the lane by Raynor that saw Henry follow his own missed shot, a block by Raynor, a recovery by guard Peter Mattimore off Henry's block and a 3-pointer by Snyder.
After two free throws by the Vikings' Vasilious Capazzo cut the deficit to 49-46, Longano was money on a 1-and-1 free-throw opportunity and the Blue 'Cats sealed their eighth victory in 11 games off a breakaway layup and a free throw by Snyder.
"We started off pretty well," said Coach Sweeney. "We got into our pressure, got some easy shots and we were up by seven at halftime. But then we scored only four points in the third quarter. Twenty eight to twenty eight at the end of the third quarter and back to anyone's game."
Villa Angela-St. Joseph Head Freshman Coach Danny Schikowski, the grandson of former Case Western Reserve legendary Head Basketball Coach Bill Sudeck, watched his Vikings go on an 11-0 run and take a four-point lead late in the third quarter.
Saint Ignatius was able to knot the score at 28 entering the fourth quarter on two strong driving layups by Snyder.
Snyder, who scored 14 points in the first 14 minutes in the storied facility that used to be called "The House of Blue Lights" before Viking Village underwent an impressive renovation, finished with a game-high 23 points.
Raynor added 10 points for Coach Sweeney and Dunstan and Longano each totaled 7 points. Nettles and Harvell led the Vikings with 16 and 10 points, respectively.
You could see Coach Sweeney's eyes light up when he and this corner discussed what is up next for the Blue 'Cats.
"Four days of practice and then St. Eds," said the outstanding young coach.
The Blue 'Cats and the Gold 'Cats have plenty of incentive heading into next week, as they prepare for the February 7th doubleheader rematch with the Freshmen programs from St. Edward on Coach Jim Connors Court in The Eagles Nest.
St. Edward's Freshmen defeated both the Blue 'Cats, 49-45, and the Gold 'Cats, 41-40, in last month's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day doubleheader at Father Sullivan Gymnasium. Next Wednesday's doubleheader at St. Edward will have the Gold 'Cats playing at 5 PM and the Blue 'Cats taking Coach Jim Connors Court at 6:30 PM. This old gym rat will see you there.