Ohio City - After he put his Wildcats through Tuesday's practice in Father Sullivan Gymnasium, Saint Ignatius' Hall of Fame Head Coach Brian Becker '77 took time out to talk about the 'Cats' upcoming opponent, the Massillon Tigers.
Saint Ignatius, currently 11-6 and ranked 10th in cleveland.com's Top 25 seven-county area poll, will travel to Tiger Town on Saturday for a matchup with a Massillon team that stands 11-9 after overcoming a 16-point deficit and turning away Whitney Young on Tuesday evening. Please note that Saturday's Junior Varsity tipoff at Massillon Washington High School will be 6 PM, followed by the Varsity game at 7:30.
"It's about our ability to recognize mismatches and recognize the times when we should be running and when it's time to set something up," said Coach Becker, while discussing the Tigers' defensive philosophies, which seem to have an emphasis on man-to-man.
"I think we will have a size advantage on them, but it is up to our guards to recognize when we should take advantage of the open-floor situations," continued the man who is just two victories shy of 350 for his outstanding coaching career. "Our guards will be challenged defensively. They have a couple of very capable guards who like to take the ball to the basket."
The Wildcats' backcourt mainstays, seniors Jon Barnes, Neeko Melendez and Josh Ozanne, and sophomores Tevin Jackson and Chase Toppin, have faced some of the premier guards in all of Northeast Ohio this winter. They will relish Saturday's challenge, my friends.
Ozanne, Barnes and Toppin have the skills and strength to defend out on the perimeter and down low. If the name Toppin sounds familiar to Tigers fans, Chase is the brother of Saint Ignatius' All-Ohio, All-Northeast Lakes District and All-Seven County Area senior defensive back Cameron Toppin.
A significant portion of Saint Ignatius' defense on Saturday night will be focused on the Tigers' 1-2 punch of Brett Martin and Dyson Berry.
Martin entered the week averaging 17.7 points and 9.4 rebounds per game and Berry has been producing 16.6 points per outing along with dishing out an average of 7.1 assists per game. Berry can also hold his own and more on the gridiron.
The Tigers have won 11 of their last 16 games after starting the season at 0-4. Those early setbacks were to Wooster, the Lakewood Rangers, Louisville and Archbishop Hoban. As of early this week, Lakewood, the seven-county area's 14th-ranked team, was carrying a 14-game winning streak.
Among the Tigers' other notable losses came at state power Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller, 76-45, and at home to rival Canton McKinley, 70-51. Saint Ignatius defeated McKinley, 68-57, on December 23rd in Father Sullivan Gymnasium.
As for Massillon's impressive comeback at home versus Whitney Young on Tuesday night, which saw Martin toss in 25 points, the Tigers discovered early and often that the Warriors from Cleveland were not the same program they defeated by 45 points in December of 2016.
In case some of the Wildcats' faithful didn't see our post from earlier this week, Whitney Young, now 10-10, has agreed to face Saint Ignatius in what will be the regular-season finale on February 24th at Sullivan Gym. It will be a Varsity only matchup at 7 PM that will feature two teams seeded third at their respective OHSAA postseason Sectional/District Tournaments - the Wildcats in the Division I Sectional/District at Strongsville and the Warriors in the Norton Division IV Sectional/District.
Whitney Young will not be Saint Ignatius' final home game, however, as the 'Cats will face the winner of Brecksville-Broadview Heights versus Valley Forge in an OHSAA Sectional Final on March 3rd at 7 PM in legendary Father Sullivan Gymnasium.
"Anytime you play at Massillon, they (the Tigers) come out with a different type of intensity, and playing Saint Ignatius is a big game on their schedule," said Coach Becker. "We will look forward to the challenge of our guards being better than their guards."
MAKE A NOTE OF IT: As we reported on the corner earlier this month, the Wildcats' Junior Varsity and Varsity games at Kenston on February 23rd will be a 5 PM Junior Varsity start followed by the Varsity game at 6:30.
SIBN!: If you can't make it down to Massillon on Saturday night, the Saint Ignatius Broadcasting Network, with "The Play-by-Play Dean" Matt MacKenzie '18 and savvy Color Analyst Brad Anderson '18 at the controls, will bring it to you live.
Have a wonderful week and weekend, and we will see you in Tiger Town on Saturday night and at Father Sullivan Gymnasium on Sunday and Monday for the Freshmen Basketball "Sullivan Showdown."