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CLEVELAND, Ohio– Home court matters.
And it mattered Friday night as St. Ignatius was able to take down previously unbeaten and the state’s top-ranked team in Division I, 53-50.
“Obviously the court may play a big part of it,” Wildcat’s leading scorer Ace Buckner said about the difference Friday night. “As a team, we’ve grown. I think it the first half last game coach told us they had like 53 points and today they just had 50, that shows how much we’ve grown and how locked in we are on defense.”
These two teams met back on Jan 6, where St. Edward was able to take care of the Wildcats, 86-64. Friday night, it was the Wildcats coming up with defensive stops when it mattered the most, starting in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles held a three-point lead for most of the final quarter, then players like Damon Friery, Reece Robinson and Carter Jackson all came together, alongside Bucker to push the Wildcats past the Eagles.
How about this big time 3-pointer to give @SIHSSports a 50-48 lead with 48 seconds left. @SportsKee1 pic.twitter.com/gSdyRH92oF
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) February 4, 2023
With just under one minute left in the fourth quarter, Friery buried a deep 3-pointer that put the Wildcats ahead of the Eagles, 50-48. From there, it was a battle at the free throw line. Brevyn Coleman got fouled on the ensuing possession, knocking down only one-of-two free throws.
That led to Carter Jackson’s turn at the free throw line, only connecting on one-of-two free throws as well to give his team a 51-49 lead with under 30 seconds left.
Whew. We got a lot of action going on.
St. Ignatius leads St. Eds 50-49, 33 seconds left @SportsKee1 pic.twitter.com/efnFWMRS36— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) February 4, 2023
Then, with the Wildcats leading 51-50 with under 15 seconds left facing a fullcourt press, they were able to find an open Friery who went down and finished with a two-hand dunk, emphatically giving his team a three-point lead, ultimately defeating their rivals for the first time this season.
DOWN GOES THE EAGLES.
St. Ignatius defeats St. Eds 53-50 to knock off the unbeaten Eagles @SIHSSports @SIHSBasketball1 @SportsKee1 pic.twitter.com/u7T34tA7qV— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) February 4, 2023
“It’s always a confidence boost when you beat your rival in this type of environment,” St. Ignatius head coach Cam Joyce said after the win. “What I told our guys is that tomorrow it’s over with, we got Glenville, a team who’s playing well and we got to move forward.”
Ace Buckner led the way during the win for the Wildcats, finishing with a team-high 16 points. Robinson had 10 points along with eight from Carter Jackson to help pace the team Friday night.
For the Eagles, Brevyn Coleman led the way with 12 points, and Danny Lavelle and Cameron Grant each poured in 10 points during the loss.
The Eagles were able to score the game’s first seven points before the Wildcats ended the opening quarter on a 9-5 run in the last five minutes. The second quarter was when the Wildcats began to settle in and take more care f the basketball, leading to a positive impact on the defensive side of the ball.
Junior point guard Matt Ellis was able to take a loose ball and score inside the paint to take the team’s first lead of the game, 15-13, midway through the second quarter. From there, the Eagles’ offensive possessions were stalled, with the Wildcat defense forcing them into a myriad of turnovers closing out the first half.
The Eagles faced a 23-18 deficit at the break and a big reason for that was the defensive pressure picked up from Joyce and his team.
“In the beginning, everybody is a little bit nervous,” Joyce said. “I just think we had to work our nerves out a little bit and once we settled in, we got some stops, made some shots and still defended and made them work and that was the biggest difference thing I thought all game was that we got to defend these guys.
“We had a little bit longer to plan for these guys,” Joyce said about preparing for this game leading up to Friday night. “I’m very proud of the way our guys played tonight. I tell my guys all the time to celebrate tonight but tomorrow we get right back at it….if you want to win a state championship, you have to win two games in a row.”
