by This content is brought to you by – https://keeonsports.com/sponsors/
AKRON, Ohio– Bench depth might help take this St. Edward team to another level.
Playing their fifth game in the last seven days, the Eagles were able to defeat St. Vincent-St. Mary Friday night, 63-59.
“We don’t need Cam Grant and Lucas (Perusek) to have a huge night every night….someone else continues to step up for this team and I just think that’s the difference,” Eagle head coach Eric Flannery said after the win to keep his team undefeated. “Anytime you can beat St. Vincent-St. Mary on the road is a big game, I don’t care how you play. You just got to grind it out and we’ve had a couple of grind-out games now and these are things that get you ready for the tournament.”
It was surely a game of runs throughout the first half, as the Eagles opened the first four minutes with a 14-4 run. From there, the Irish settled in and began to ramp up the pressure, forcing the Eagles to continue to shoot outside shots which started to stall off ending the first quarter.
The Irish were able to end the first quarter on a 13-6 run to face just a three-point deficit after the opening quarter. Eagle senior forward Cameron Grant began to find a rhythm, in the second quarter. He was consistent on a night when the Eagles let it fly from behind the arc.
He ended the first half with a game-high 15 points to help the Eagles head into halftime with a 37-29 lead.
“The hoops are kind of similar to ours and it gave me a little bit of an advantage shooting,” Grant said about his first-half shooting performance. “I was able to move without the ball and find the open spots.”
Cameron Grant is up to 13 points for @SEHS_BASKETBALL so far in the first half, he’s been a problem for the Irish early on @SportsKee1 pic.twitter.com/mV8DeNWLt9
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) January 28, 2023
The second half was when the bench depth was on full display for Flannery’s bunch, starting with juniors Max McClellan and Ricky Bussey II. McClellan was a big spark inside the paint, challenging 6-foot-10 forward Darius Stratford consistently.
The two of them combined for 20 points during the win, proving to be the main difference makers on a night when multiple players were fighting through a sickness.
Max McClellan is fired up!! He had himself a huge third quarter, with 8 points to help spark the Eagles to a 48-43 lead heading into the 4th Q. @SEHS_BASKETBALL @CoachFlan @sehsathletics @SportsKee1 pic.twitter.com/aJouWYjCYT
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) January 28, 2023
“We can do a lot of different things so I’m still not 100 percent sure how good we can be but when you start grinding out wins and not playing your best basketball, you know you’re pretty good,” Flannery said. “We played hard, we played hard with 10-11 guys.”
The Irish took one lead Friday night, and it came after a Stratford free throw with two minutes left in the third quarter. From there, the Eagles ended the quarter on an 8-2 run and never looked back.
Nine different players scored for the Eagles during the win, with marquee players like Lucas Perusek and Cameron Grant scoring a combined four points in the second half. Guys like Ricky Bussey and Max McClellan had a combined 16 of the team’s 28 second-half points, as the Irish just couldn’t capitalize late in the game, given a couple of chances at the rim.
The Eagles took a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter and never got within four points for the rest of the game. Irish players like Lance Hayes and Jayson Walker did some heavy lifting for their team, combining to score 32 points with senior point guard Kevin Hamilton commanding the point guard position, pouring in 14 points during the loss.
Heading into Friday night’s matchup, the Eagles were ranked as the No. 1 team in the state of Ohio, according to MaxPreps.com. Flannery’s team is confident, and with the ability to switch lineups regularly, his team has started to click on all cylinders.
“They’ve bought into what we want them to do but there is so much more I think we can do with these guys,” Flannery said. “Because of the ability to play different guys, I think we can have different guys step up and we can do a lot of different things.”
