From Bainbridge Road in Chagrin Falls - Saint Ignatius Hall of Fame Head Basketball Coach Brian Becker '77 picked up his 350th career victory on Friday night, including his 336th with the Wildcats, as Saint Ignatius improved to 13-6 with the nine-point victory over Kenston.
The Wildcats, who for the most part had an off night at the offensive end of the floor, laid down some strong defense in turning away the 14-8 Bombers.
Saint Ignatius, ranked 10th in cleveland.com's seven-county Top 25 Poll, will close out its Varsity regular season tonight (Saturday) at 7 versus the Warriors from Whitney Young in Father Sullivan Gymnasium. Tonight's game will not be the last home game of the season, however, as on March 3rd at 7 PM the Wildcats will host the winner of Brecksville-Broadview Heights vs. Valley Forge in a Division I Sectional Final.
A tip of every sports cap this corner owns goes out to the Junior Varsity Wildcats, who completed another outstanding season at 18-2 by wearing down Kenston's Jayvees, 58-34, in the Bombers' impressive gymnasium on Friday evening.
The JV 'Cats' basketball program now has a combined record of 37-4 over the past two seasons, with 3 of those four losses coming by only 2 points.
Here is a look at the Wildcats' Varsity matchup with Kenston, followed by a recap on the Junior Varsity's triumph over the Bombers.
NOT THE PRETTIEST OF GAMES, BUT A RELENTLESS DEFENSE, A STRONG FOURTH QUARTER, DOUBLE-DIGIT NIGHTS FROM SOPHOMORE GUARD CHASE TOPPIN, SENIOR FORWARD LUKE WISKES AND SENIOR GUARD JON BARNES, AND A SOLID FLOOR GAME FROM SOPHOMORE POINT GUARD TEVIN JACKSON WERE ENOUGH TO TURN AWAY THE UPSET-MINDED AND UNRANKED BOMBERS.
WHEN THERE'S A WILL, THERE'S A WAY: Saint Ignatius Head Coach Brian Becker certainly wasn't thrilled with Friday night's 49-40 victory at Kenston.
That said, Coach Becker, who has taken his Wildcats program deep into the OHSAA postseason, including a Division I State Championship in March of 2001 and a State Runner-Up in March of 1998, realizes there are nights when you just have to grind it out.
"Certainly defensively it was a real good night," Coach Becker said of limiting a Kenston team that was averaging nearly 70 points a game to just 40 points, including only seven points in the decisive fourth quarter.
"The flip side of that is offensively I haven't seen our team shoot the ball that poorly probably in my career. But they found a way to defend the right guys, limit very few second-chance opportunities and we took care of it when we needed to take care of it."
Coach Becker was referring to the final eight minutes when Saint Ignatius, trailing Kenston, 33-31, after three quarters, went on to outscore the Bombers of Head Coach Matt Vespa, 18-7.
"We made free throws down the stretch (6-of-8 in the fourth quarter) and certainly Chase (Toppin) gave us a nice spark off the bench," said Coach Becker. "He was able to get into the seams, finish around the basket and he defended really well."
The Wildcats, on the strength of a basket by senior guard Jon Barnes, took a 9-8 lead into the second quarter.
Kenston would go in front, 11-9, on a 3-pointer by its multi-skilled senior forward Ryan Kooser only to watch Saint Ignatius respond with a put back from savvy and skilled senior forward Luke Wiskes and a basket by Toppin.
In what was a hectic and sometimes sloppy finish to the first half, the Bombers led by one point after Kooser hit a free throw and senior guard Tyran Smith scored off an assist from senior backcourt mate Kee-Shaun Merrill.
Two free throws from Toppin had the 'Cats in front by one point, but a 3-pointer by Merrill and a buzzer-beating, 3-point launch from midcourt courtesy of Kooser allowed Kenston to take a 20-15 lead into the halftime break.
The Wildcats came out for the third quarter and, behind a basket by Barnes and a 3-pointer from deep threat senior guard Neeko Melendez, knotted the score at 20.
Trailing, 24-22, the Bombers took a 28-24 lead off a 3-pointer by senior guard Michael Swartz and a three-point play from Kooser off his strong move down low.
A layup by Toppin off a "sweet dish" from Wiskes made it a 28-26 game, but a three-point play by Merrill extended Kenston's lead to five points with 2 minutes and 31 seconds left in the third quarter.
Two more authoritative layups from Toppin sandwiched around a free throw by Barnes tied the score at 31, but the Bombers took their two-point lead into the final eight minutes thanks to a basket by Smith.
"Defensively, we did our job," Coach Becker said. "We had the right guys shooting the basketball for us and they got good looks, but for some reason, the ball wasn't going into the basket."
In what was a hectic fourth quarter, Saint Ignatius rode a baseline layup from Toppin off his offensive rebound, a layup in transition by Toppin off an on-the-money assist from Jackson, a steal and a trip to Slam City by Wiskes and a Wiskes jumper in the lane off another slick assist from Jackson to a six-point advantage with just under three minutes remaining.
Kenston and its strong student body support weren't about to go away, however, as Coach Vespa's team closed to 42-40 on a deep corner 3-pointer by 6-foot-7 junior forward Ryan Long and a free throw from senior guard DJ DeJarnette.
In a display of big-game tested composure, the Wildcats settled the issue on another Toppin basket courtesy of an assist from Wiskes and the clutch free-throw shooting of tough and talented senior post Dom DiNunzio and Toppin.
Toppin's 18 points were a game-high and Wiskes and Barnes finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Bombers got a hard-earned 12 points from Kooser and nine points from Merrill.
THE JUNIOR VARSITY WILDCATS TURN IN ANOTHER WINTER OF WINNING WAYS
Displaying the we not me philosophy that was instilled in them all season by their basketball savvy Head Coach Chris Salata '94 and his outstanding Assistant Coaches Brian McLaughlin '94, Ron Friedel '94 and Bryan Fisher '13, the Junior Varsity Wildcats scored and defended their way to an eight-point lead after the first seven minutes on Friday night.
Providing the early offense were guard Daniel Nunez with two 3-pointers off his smooth release, guard Jack Whelan with a put back, strong and steady post Darius Moss with a basket off a slick assist from gifted forward Connor Cmiel, a second-effort follow by endless hustle forward Rory McConville, a layup from always on the move forward Nate Sommerfeld courtesy of an assist from talented and selfless point guard Caleb Blake, and a steal and a layup by guard Sean Armen.
After Kenston's Jayvees cut the deficit to five points, the JV 'Cats went on an impressive and commanding 13-0 run. The big baskets were a deep corner 3-pointer from Sommerfeld, a put back by strong and skilled post Michael McNamara, a steal and a three-point play from Cmiel and a put back by Sommerfeld with 1:47 remaining in the first half.
Leading by 16 points entering the third quarter, Saint Ignatius quickly extended its lead to 20 points on pull-up jumpers by Nunez and multi-skilled forward/guard Griffin Hanna. The JV 'Cats held that 20-point advantage entering the final seven minutes after Hanna beat the buzzer with a floating 1-hander in the lane.
With an 18-2 season firmly in its grasp, Saint Ignatius left no doubt on a Cmiel basket off a Sommerfeld assist, the free-throw shooting of Hanna, forward Patrick Hyland and Whelan, a strong driving 1-hander high off the glass by forward/guard Tommy Spear, a hustle steal from Hyland that led to two free throws from Blake, a strong basket down low by forward/post Gabe Duban via a Blake assist, and a swift and smooth driving 1-hander down the lane from Hyland.
All 13 players hit the scoring column for the JV 'Cats. Leading the way with nine-point nights were Hanna and Sommerfeld, and Nunez and Cmiel each contributed eight points.
The JV 'Cats put together two seven-game winning streaks this season and ended another wonderful winter with a four-game winning streak.
This corner would like to express my sincere Thank You to Saint Ignatius' outstanding Athletic Director Mr. Rory Fitzpatrick '88 and Coaches Salata, McLaughlin, Friedel and Fisher for the privilege to cover and report on the outstanding young men who comprised the 2017-18 Junior Varsity Wildcats. To all of the Wildcats' faithful, let me just say the future is extremely bright.