By John Fanta ’13
Nobody said it would be easy. The Solon District’s competition level lived to the hype in Wednesday’s District Semifinal between Saint Ignatius and Cleveland Heights
Coach Sean O’Toole’s Saint Ignatius Wildcats are moving on to the Solon District Championship Game, as they faught off Cleveland Heights, 71-61, in a game that saw a late comeback attempt by the Tigers.
The Wildcats bolted out to a quick start, as they led after one quarter, 16-4. In a re-match of the regular season affair on February 14, the Wildcats wanted to get off to a good start. They had started quite slowly at Cleveland Heights, but held off the Tigers, 58-54.
The Tigers did not score until 57 seconds were left in the first quarter. After a quarter, Francisco Santiago, Derek Sloan, and Bryan Fisher all had four points. It was an effective balance on the offensive end that had the ‘Cats going, but the lane defense of Saint Ignatius was tremendous.
The Tigers ended the first half on a strong note, as they hit a three-ball to only trail 28-17. Cleveland Heights outscored Saint Ignatius, 13-12, in the second quarter. Derek Sloan had ten points and Francisco Santiago had six points, but they were just getting started. Although it wasn’t an explosive offensive half, the ‘Cats grinded a great half out defensively to hold the Tigers at seventeen points.
In the third, the Wildcats would not let off the gas pedal, as Francisco Santiago would put an exclamation point on the third with a buzzer beating three-ball. The Wildcats put up 23 points in the third. Sloan scored ten points in the 3rd to lead them to a 51-35 lead.
The Tigers came alive in the fourth, as they would not go down without a fight in the game. With 3:23 to go, Saint Ignatius led the game 60-43. The Tigers began a trek trying to get back up, as they got within six points with 1:10 to go in the game. It was 62-56, but Saint Ignatius would close the game out with free throws and resilience, as the Wildcats outlasted the Tigers by ten. Derek Sloan ended with a game-high 25 points.
NEXT UP at SOLON!
The Wildcats will meet the winner of tomorrow’s district semifinal match-up between 3rd-seeded Shaker Heights and 5th-seeded Bedford on Saturday in the District Championship Game at Solon HS at 2:30 pm.
I will have updates on tomorrow’s contest between Shaker Heights and Bedford on twitter @JohnFanta13.
The Solon District is a pure example of the phrase, “March Madness.” It takes a “one game at a time attitude,” and that’s what the Wildcats will have in the final on Saturday as they have two days in advance to prepare.
SIBN COVERAGE / MEDIA: Saturday’s District Championship at Solon HS will be broadcasted live on the Saint Ignatius Broadcasting Network. Coverage begins at 2:15 pm in advance of the 2:30 pm tip-off. Go to Eddie Dwyer’s Corner for a preview on the game and all of the stories on Saint Ignatius Basketball.
Check my updates out on twitter of tomorrow’s other district semifinal between Shaker Heights and Bedford.
