Ohio City - After taking the storied Father Sullivan Gymnasium floor wearing T-Shirts that paid tribute to the celebration of Black History Month, the Saint Ignatius Varsity Basketball Wildcats went on to wear down the Lawyers from John Marshall, 76-44, in front of what was a decent crowd considering it was a Thursday work night.
Before heading up the stairs to Sullivan Gymnasium for the pre-game warmup, Saint Ignatius' Hall of Fame Head Coach Brian Becker '77 had some words of encouragement for Wildcats gifted sophomore guard Chase Toppin.
"I challenged Chase before the game," said Coach Becker. "I told him, this is their best guy (Lawyers Senate Athletic League MVP guard Quentin Williams). He's a really good scorer and a really good player. If we can take him out of the picture, this will be a much easier game for us."
And, in the words of Coach Becker, Chase did just that.
Taking Williams out of his rhythm from the get-go and forcing him to settle for tough shots, Toppin was the fuel that put the fire in what was a solid effort at both ends of the floor by the area's now 10-4 eighth-ranked Wildcats.
"I think his defense sparked his offense," said Coach Becker of Toppin. "He had eight points in the first quarter off two nice drives and a jumper, along with two free throws. Chase did exactly what we expected him to do tonight."
On the strength of a three-point play from Saint Ignatius' standout senior forward Luke Wiskes off Luke's follow, a basket by Toppin off one of Chase's authoritative drives to the rim and two Toppin free throws, John Marshall Head Coach and former Wildcat basketball mainstay Rich Austin '10 was calling for a 30-second timeout with his Lawyers down by just six points.
John Marshall (12-5), a Senate Athletic League playoff qualifier, would close to 9-5 on a strong move to the basket by forward De'Marko Allen.
Before you could blink, Wiskes blocked a shot that resulted in a transition basket for one of Northeast Ohio's underrated players, 'Cats' senior guard/forward Jon Barnes, Toppin produced two more points and Saint Ignatius' savvy senior guard Neeko Melendez followed with a 3-pointer.
After a basket and two free throws from Wiskes, a layin by multiskilled senior guard /forward Josh Ozanne off a slick assist from the floor general, sophomore point guard Tevin Jackson, and a clever move to the hoop from senior forward Aymin Bahhur, Saint Ignatius took a 15-point lead into the second quarter.
The 'Cats, who travel to Benedictine on Saturday night to face the 13th-ranked and currently 11-4 Bengals in the atmosphere-rich Trueman Memorial Fieldhouse and Gymnasium, extended their advantage to 19 points early in the second quarter courtesy of a spinning hook shot in the lane by 6-foot-9 junior post Kevin Davet and a 1-hander in the lane from Barnes. We say currently 11-4 Benedictine because Coach Rob Stircula's Bengals travel to Lake Catholic tonight (Friday) to face a solid, but young Cougars team.
It was at that point John Marshall started to resemble a team that has put together two five-game winning streaks this season.
Behind baskets by forward De'Von Terrell and Williams, a free throw from guard Manny Vega and a putback by endless hustle guard John Jackson, the Lawyers attempted to make their case with a 7-0 run.
Coach Becker's 'Cats quickly overruled any thoughts of a comeback by a school that was once a staunch rival of Saint Ignatius during the old West Senate days.
Answering that 7-0 burst by the team from West 140th Street off Lorain Avenue, was the scoring of Wiskes, a 3-pointer from junior guard Lukas Bielek, a three-point play by Barnes and the scoring by Bahhur off Aymin's ability to run the floor.
Trailing, 40-16, at halftime, John Marshall would start the third quarter with a 5-0 run that was composed of an athletic follow by the Lawyers' Jackson, a free throw from Williams and another basket by Jackson.
Saint Ignatius again spoiled any momentum the Lawyers attempted to create, as Toppin produced two more points off another Tevin Jackson assist, Tevin buried a 3-pointer and Ozanne scored off a strong putback.
The Lawyers, trailing by 25 points entering the fourth quarter, had their case put to rest on a one-handed slam-city dunk along the baseline by Davet, a 3-pointer from Barnes and another putback by the ever-present Wiskes.
"We had four guys in double figures," said Coach Becker of Barnes' 13 points, Wiskes' 11 points, five rebounds and four assists, Ozanne's 11 points and 10 points from Toppin. Bahhur and Bielek each scored eight points.
"Everybody who played scored," Coach Becker continued. "Barnes gave us buckets when we needed buckets and Wiskes gave us buckets when we needed buckets. I thought Chase and Tevin distributed the ball to places where the kids could score. We missed a bunch of layups, so there is always room for improvement. But all in all, this is a John Marshall team that is going to compete for a City Championship and I thought we did what we needed to do tempo wise and defensively."
WILDCATS OUTSTANDING ASSISTANT COACH KEVIN NEITZEL '90 AND STRONG AND TALENTED JUNIOR POST NATE HUBBARD CELEBRATED BIRTHDAYS ON THURSDAY AND WERE TREATED TO A CHORUS OF "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" FROM THE ENTIRE VARSITY BASKETBALL PROGRAM.
NATE CONTRIBUTED SIX REBOUNDS AND THREE POINTS TO THE IMPRESSIVE WIN OVER JOHN MARSHALL.
AND COUNTING: Coach Becker is just three wins shy of 350 for his career. Those 347 current victories include 333 at Saint Ignatius.
IN CLOSING, congrats go out again to Wildcats standout football linebacker Tommy Eichenberg '19, who has added Boston College, Temple and the University of Kentucky to his recent list of college offers. Kentucky offered Tommy on Thursday evening.
The offers and visits from coaches all over the nation continue to pour in for Tommy, who also has offers from Purdue, Toledo, Kent State, Duke and Ball State. Tommy will be one of Saint Ignatius' Captains for the 2018 season and was selected as the Wildcats' overall MVP for the 2017 season.
Have a great weekend and we will see you at legendary Benedictine High School on Saturday night.
The skilled and basketball savvy Junior Varsity Basketball Wildcats build a 20-point lead by halftime and go on to defeat John Marshall's Jayvees, 65-37, on Thursday night
By Eddie Dwyer
FROM FATHER SULLIVAN GYMNASIUM ON THE CAMPUS OF SAINT IGNATIUS HIGH SCHOOL.
Ohio City - If there is a better set of Junior Varsity Coaches in Ohio than Saint Ignatius' Chris Salata '94 (Head Coach), Brian McLaughlin '94 (Chris' veteran Assistant Coach), Ron Friedel '94 and Bryan Fisher '13, someone is going to have to prove it to this old gym rat.
Yes, the Wildcats' sophomore class, as this corner expressed in the fall and again this winter, is extremely talented and mentally mature beyond its years.
That said, the 'Cats' 10th graders are also the beneficiaries of the outstanding coaching they receive on a daily basis. And being from Cleveland's Jesuit Preparatory School, they are wise enough to take full advantage of that tutoring.
Thursday night in Father Sullivan Gymnasium, the JV 'Cats steadily took control and went on to their sixth consecutive victory, a 65-37 triumph over John Marshall's Junior Varsity program. The young Wildcats will take a 13-1 record into Saturday's matchup with the JV Bengals from Benedictine. A 5:30 PM JV tip-off will precede the 7 PM Varsity game between the Wildcats and the Bengals
After being challenged during the first five minutes of Thursday night's game versus the JV Lawyers, the Junior Varsity 'Cats began unleashing their unselfish team play that is highlighted by crisp passing and a passionate effort on defense.
That unselfish approach came to the fore on a play that saw strong and athletic post Darius Moss pass the ball to multiskilled guard/forward Griffin Hanna, who, like Darius, looked for the higher-percentage opportunity and fed guard Daniel Nunez for a basket.
After guard Jack Whelan turned a steal into a layup and Moss, moving without the ball, converted a three-point play, Saint Ignatius was up by nine points with 1 minute and 23 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
John Marshall would respond with two second-effort moves down low by its promising post Lawrence Howard, but a Whelan 3-pointer allowed the 'Cats to take a 22-12 lead into the second quarter. Jack is the son of Wildcats Assistant Varsity Baseball Coach John Whelan, speaking of solid coaches.
After a smooth 1-handed baseline drive by guard Sean Armen, a driving 1-hander by point guard Caleb Blake and a nothing-but-net 3-pointer from standout forward Connor Cmiel, Saint Ignatius led by 17 points in the late stages of the first half.
A Nunez 3-pointer helped extend the Wildcats' advantage to 20 points by halftime.
The JV 'Cats, who are blessed with the type of depth that produces solid rotations, took total control in the second half.
Another 3-pointer by Nunez fueled a commanding run that saw ever-present forward Erik Daugenti come up with a steal and knock down a 3-pointer, Whelan score off an authoritative driving 1-hander, Daugenti bury another trey, and Moss, courtesy of an assist from Daugenti, score off a smooth baby hook that pushed Saint Ignatius' lead to 49-18.
The Lawyers would have a few bright moments late in the third quarter and early in the final seven minutes, but the night belonged to the team from Ohio City.
Helping close the show for the 'Cats was the scoring of Armen and forward Patrick Hyland, who also turned in some big early minutes, a jumper from Whelan, yet another 3-pointer via the soft touch of Nunez and a trey from the always hustling Rory McConville.
John Marshall received an 11-point night from Jamar Williams and eight strong points around the rim from Howard. Saint Ignatius, which had 13 players reach the scoring column, was led by 12 points from Nunez and Whelan's nine points. A tip of this corner's cap goes out to post Gabe Duban, who helped set the tempo by going strong to the glass in the early going and scoring six points.