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Basketball Cats Split Weekend Back-to-Back Series

By Bobby Gerome '21 and Kurt Pickering '21, 02/24/19, 12:00PM EST

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The team celebrated Senior Night on Friday with a huge win.

Basketball Cats’ winning streak at 10 after a win against Kenson

by Bobby Gerome ‘21

The Wildcats sent the crowd home happy on senior night.

The Saint Ignatius varsity basketball team rolled to a dominant 83-41 victory at Sullivan Gym over the Kenston Bombers.

The Wildcats set the tone from the start. In the first quarter, the Wildcats started all 5 seniors, starting things off right. The score at the end of the first was 18-13 in the Wildcats’ favor.

“Kevin Davet really stepped up and was a monster in the first quarter,” Head Coach Brian Becker ‘77 said. “You come out and have a guy dominate in the post like that, and it really sets the tone for how the rest of the game’s gonna go.”

Davet had 12 of the Wildcats’ 18 points in the first.

And believe it or not, the first quarter was the worst quarter of the night for the Wildcats.

In the second, the team put up 24 points and held the Bombers to 8. The score at halftime was 42-21.

“We got the ball up and down the floor quickly and harassed their guards,” Becker said. “We were really strong on the glass and put forth a great effort.”

In the second half, the lead only increased. The Wildcats scored 41 points in the half to Kenston’s 20. The final score of the game was 83-41. Not a bad showing for the Wildcats.

The second Magis Moment of the year for the basketball team came late in the fourth when senior Wilson Young made a crazy layup while getting fouled. Young then made his free throw to convert the and-one.

“He’s a kid who didn’t make the team last year, along with Darius Moss,” Coach Becker said. “He’s a kid who is a true example of persistence. “Here’s a kid who worked very hard, and improved his game from being cut last year to making the team this year. He’s a very productive practice player, and when he gets in the game, he does the right things and gives a great effort.”

Young enjoyed the chance to play with his brothers on Senior Night on Friday.

“It felt great playing out there with all of my seniors,” Young said. “It’s like a dream come true, I’ve worked so hard for this and I’m so glad that I came to finish in the end. I’m so blessed to come out here and play for this team, it’s truly a blessing.”

Regular season ends with a difficult loss on a tough afternoon at Stow

by Kurt Pickering '21

Entering Saturday’s matinee game vs. Stow-Munroe Falls, the Wildcats had a 10-game winning streak. The team looked to add to the long run and finish an outstanding regular season.

The day game against the 10-11 Bulldogs was going to be a rough one for the Wildcats. The team was short a star point guard in Chase Toppin, due to sickness. Add that onto the stamina drain coming off of a well-fought battle against the Kenston Bombers on Senior Night, and Saturday would be tough.

All season, the Wildcats were able to adapt to several injuries, such as one to Griffin Hanna and more recently to Lucas Bielek for a few games. Now the team needed to play without its star point guard in Toppin.

The end result did not favor the Wildcats, as the team fell, 45-42, ending the lengthy streak.

The first quarter was the lowest scoring period for the Wildcats all season, due to a sloppy start for the Wildcats. Evan Bainbridge, senior forward for the Bulldogs, dominated the first with a quick two 3-pointers from deep. Committed to Kent State, Bainbridge came in with something to prove on his Senior Day. Even still, the Wildcats finished the quarter with a 12-11 lead.

The second quarter stayed just the same. The scoring went back and forth for the Wildcats and Bulldogs. Henry Raynor made his presence in the paint, adding several post moves inside. Connor Cmiel contributed great hustle play as always, as the junior added a big layup. Lukas Bielek held his own with a trey ball and a smooth finish at the rim. The Wildcats held the upper hand at the end of the half, 21-20.

The third quarter saw rough play again, ending at a score of 32-32. Both teams looked tired due to the quick turnaround. After all for the Wildcats, this marked the team’s third game in five games. Henry Raynor led all scorers with 8 points and Nunez had 5 points as well.

For the Wildcats, the keys for a win were to finish strong, and stop Stow’s D1 college commit, Evan Bainbridge, at all costs.

Unfortunately for the visitors, Bainbridge went on an absolutely terror with 17 points. The Wildcats had the lead until Bainbridge hit a huge go ahead 3-pointer to put the Bulldogs up by three late in the game. The Wildcats struggled to find their groove and came up short at the end, losing 45-42 to close the season 15-7.

After a tough loss, the Wildcats will start their playoffs at home on Saturday at 7 pm vs. the winner of John Marshall vs. Rhodes. The Basketball Cats will be looking to continue this impressive season with another historical postseason.

JV and freshmen squads finish the season strong

The Wildcats' freshmen and JV teams have also finished out the season, all on successful notes.

The freshmen gold team, led by Tom Parker, concluded its season with a Sullivan Showdown victory early last week, 37-35, over Cleveland Heights. The Gold Cats conclude the year at 14-3.

The freshmen blue squad tallied two wins in two days to finish off the 2018-19 campaign. Led by head coach Regan Sweeney ’11 and assistant coaches T.J. DiSanto ’06 and Marc Hester, the Blue Cats closed out with 55-43 wins over Kenston and Stow to roll to 15-4. 

As per usual, the JV Cats enjoyed a marvelous season. The men of Chris Salata '94 and Brian McLaughlin '94 (along with coaches Ron Friedel ’94 and Bryan Fisher ’13) finished off the year an awesome 13-game winning streak. The JV Cats defeated Kenston and Stow in back-to-back games, rounding out a 19-3 season. Thanks to Salata, McLaughlin, and Co., look for lots of seasoned, young talent to ascend from the JV to varsity level next season.