SULLIVAN GYMNASIUM – A sold out Father Sullivan Gym was ready to go by halftime of the Junior Varsity contest Saturday night vs. Saint Edward High School. The stands were filled to the max and a full costume themed student section was fired up. The energy quickly trickled away as the Wildcats fell behind to a 74-62 loss to the Eagles.
Saint Edward is always the highlighted matchup on the Wildcat’s schedule and even more so this year as it gave the Wildcat’s another chance to prove themselves against a highly ranked team not only in the city but in the state.
The Wildcats stayed in the game early only trailing by 3 at the end of the first quarter. An early game lob from Josh Ozanne to Luke Wiskes who threw it down with authority hyped up the team and the rest of Sullivan Gym. From the early minutes, it looked as it would be a cometitive game all the way into the fourth quarter.
Second quarter came around and things changed quickly. Sophomores Grant Huffman and Montorie Foster helped Saint Eds pull ahead in the second quarter and they never looked back. Foster finished the night with 20 points and Huffman was not far behind with 18 points of his own.
with 9 points
The Eagles came out of the locker room following halftime and sealed the deal early with several quick baskets and a 20 point lead. The Wildcats never found an answer for the stellar Saint Ed’s offense and struggled to outrebound the Eagles all night.
Neeko Melendez seemed to be the only life for the Wildcats all evening. Melendez finished with 24 points and 5 rebounds. Josh Ozanne agressively attacked the rim all night but could not seem to get anything to fall in what quickly became a rough night for the Wildcats all around.
The Wildcats outscored the Eagles 23-15 in the fourth quarter to cut into the lead slightly but in the end was not nearly enough to get even with the Eagles. The Wildcats fell to the Eagles 74-62. The loss is the second loss at home for the Wildcats this season and their third overall. Wildcats will get another shot at Saint Edward on February 9th, this time inside the Eagles Nest in Lakewood. The Wildcats are now 8-3 on the season.
on the glass as the Eagles out rebounded the Wildcats
all evening
Another opportunity arrises in Father Sullivan Gym this Friday night as former #1 ranked Garfield Heights is set to take on the Wildcats at 7PM. Garfield Heights has shown a scary good side for themselves but also an inconsistent side the past few weeks. The Bulldogs are coming off three straight recent losses to Brush, Prolific Prep Academy (Napa CA), and Cornerston Christian. Garfield has been proved beatable and Coach Becker and the Wildcats will look to pounce on the opportunity in a little less than a week.
It doesn’t get easier a week from today when #6 ranked Cleveland Centeral Catholic comes to Father Sullvan Gym for the second half of another back to back game weekend. Cleveland Centeral Catholic only has two losses on the year from Benedictine and Dr. Henry Wise. As always Matt McKenzie and Brad Anderson will have the call for both of these upcoming games.
