by CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio– Walsh Jesuit has looked a little bit different to start the 2022-23 season, bringing back just one starter from a year ago.
That didn’t seem to matter Tuesday night as the Warriors scored the first 12 points of the game, helping kickstart an impressive defensive performance to later stun St. Ignatius 67-62.
FINAL: Walsh Jesuit 67, St. Ignatius 62 @SportsKee1 @WalshJesuitMBB pic.twitter.com/QZodya2bQ8
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) December 7, 2022
“Defense comes first,” senior point guard Zach Halligan said after scoring 14 points during the win. “Defense wins championships, that’s what they say. We came out, played hard and knew we needed to stop them and that’s what we did.”
It started in the first quarter, as the Warriors held the Wildcats to just seven points–including opening the game up on a 12-0 run in the first five minutes of action.
Rebounding and second-chance points played an imperative part in the hot start for the Warriors and even late in the second half to help secure the win.
With the Wildcats having a starting five consisting of three guys taller than the Warriors’ tallest player, crashing the glass was a major point of emphasis Tuesday night.
“It’s an important thing for us in general,” Warrior head coach Kevin Byrne said about rebounding and being able to make a mark in that category during the win. “I think it’s something we do pretty well. We work on it every day…We’ve been fortunate so far in the three games that we rebounded pretty well.”
Cameron Joyce and his team were able to claw away at the 12-point deficit after the first quarter as the game went on. In fact, they were able to take their first lead of the game to start the third quarter and eventually tied the game at 47 after three-quarters of play.
@SIHSBasketball1 takes their first lead of the game, 38-37 with just over 5 mins left in the 3rd Q. @SportsKee1 pic.twitter.com/HuplFBGDAJ
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) December 7, 2022
The fourth quarter was just a series of runs for the Warriors after really forcing the Wildcats to rely on their outside shooting to help inch their way back into the game. One player for the Warriors–senior scrapper Max Matta–played an imperative part in shifting the momentum of the game on both sides of the ball.
He ended the night with 10 points and 10 rebounds despite being undersized for his position. Any time his team needed a spark, Matta was there in a big way.
“He’s played a lot of basketball for us, he’s unorthodox,” Byrne said about Matta.
“We all love playing together,” Matta said. “I’m smaller than most people so I just have to go out play hard and try to grab every rebound I can.”
For the game, Sean Spicer led the way with 12 points for the Warriors. Keith Rivers, Tyler Bell and Halligan each had 11 points followed up with 10 points from Matta to pace the offense.
For the Wildcats, Ace Buckner had a game-high 16 points along with 10 points from Braydn Szczepaniak during the loss.
It was a statement win for the Warriors– a total team effort as well. It was a kind of win that sends a message.
“It shows that we can play with the biggest ones,” Halligan said. “Throw anybody at us and we’re going to get them, we’re going to go after them.
“We have a good group, they’re resilient, they hang in there,” coach Byrne added. “We did enough, made enough shots and grabbed enough rebounds.”
