-
02/22 - 2:30 PM Boys Basketball Final St. Vincent-St. Mary 89 Villa Angela-St. Joseph 76
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The boys basketball game of the year didn't exactly live up to the billing, as St. Vincent-St. Mary held a comfortable lead for most of the afternoon in an 89-76 road win over Villa Angela-St. Joseph on Sunday.
Junior Henry Baddley led the way with 29 points as St. Vincent-St. Mary (20-0) stayed perfect with the nonconference win over Villa Angela-St. Joseph (15-3).
The highly anticipated game pitted the top two teams (No. 1 St. Vincent-St. Mary, No. 2 Villa Angela-St. Joseph) in the cleveland.com Top 25 against each other. Both teams are also ranked within the top 10 nationally in the MaxPreps Top 25.
"This was one of those epic games you'll remember five or 10 years from now," said St. Vincent-St. Mary coach Dru Joyce. "It was big, and these guys were just warriors."
A fast start to the game had the Irish leading by as many as 17 points in the first half. Eventually, St. Vincent-St. Mary hit halftime with a 41-27 lead, which was partially fueled by 13 points from Baddley.
What it means
Barring a shock of epic proportions, St. Vincent-St. Mary will finish the regular season undefeated. The Irish should not have trouble with their next two opponents (North Canton Hoover and Canton McKinley), and the perfect regular season would be the first since the school did it in 2002-03.
"We just want to continue to get better and to get to that ultimate destination for this group, this year to win a state championship," Joyce said.
Sunday's win will quiet any talk that the Irish struggle against teams with good interior players. Playing what is likely the best frontcourt in Northeast Ohio, the Irish led by double-digits for nearly the entire afternoon. The defense of Baddley and Jibri Blount help adjust for size.
The Vikings might have played their worst game of the year, as they couldn't slow down the Irish early and never were able to bring the score too close. With part of the reason being several missed layups, the Vikings shouldn't fret too much about the loss.
Play of the game
With Villa Angela-St. Joseph trailing by 10 points in the third quarter, Baddley was fouled by Jeff Grudzinski on the fast break. It was called an intentional foul, Baddley hit both free throws and then had a dunk on the next possession to make the score 52-38.
It began a trend, as the Vikings couldn't ever get the score closer than eight points.
Crucial run
St. Vincent-St. Mary matched the intensity of the crowd early on, as a 12-0 run in the first quarter helped the team jump out to a 16-5 lead. During the stretch, back-to-back 3-pointers by Baddley and Josh Williams gave the team a lot of momentum.
Who stood out for St. Vincent-St. Mary
Baddley:One game after scoring 28 points against Walsh Jesuit, Baddley did himself one better with 29 points. It's not all offense, though. His defense is the reason the Irish can beat bigger teams.
Josh Williams: Despite dealing with an ankle injury, Williams finished with 18 points. The Irish don't turn the ball over too often, and that all starts with Williams.
John Williams: The younger Williams came off the bench to score 10 points. The reserve unit for the Irish is the team's secret weapon.
Who stood out for Villa Angela-St. Joseph
Carlton Bragg: Although he really didn't get things going until the second half, Bragg finished with a team-high 23 points. It wasn't his best night but still an impressive performance for the Kansas commit.
Brian Parker: In his final regular season home game, Parker finished with 17 points. When the Vikings battled back, he was the one fueling the team's "can't quit" attitude.
St. Vincent-St. Mary sound bites
Baddley on the big early lead: "It wasn't a surprise. Usually we get up on teams, stay up on them and do what we do on defense."
Blount on his defense: "I try to get my body on them first. As Coach Dru says, 'Body negates length.' We were trying to play defense before they caught it."
Joyce on the fast start: "If you get down in an environment like this, I don't even want to think about what it would be like to try and climb out of that hole."
Joyce on dealing with the size: "We knew their length was going to give us issues. We tried different things and were looking at certain players we could sag off of. We wanted to face guard a little bit more. The guys did what we wanted."
Villa Angela-St. Joseph sound bites
Coach Babe Kwasniak on falling behind: "Offensively, this is as good a group as I've ever coached, and we had 27 points in the first half. A lot of that was due to the fact we weren't stopping them."
Kwasniak on the loss: "They played the way they play. I just wish we could have given them a little better game."
What's next
St. Vincent-St. Mary hosts North Canton Hoover on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Villa Angela-St. Joseph travels to Louisville St. Thomas Aquinas on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Follow our new high school sports Twitter account @NEOvarsity and tag your high school sports Tweets and score updates with the #NEOvarsity hashtag.
Contact high school sports reporter David Cassilo by email (dcassilo@cleveland.com) or Twitter (@dcassilo). Or log in and leave a message in the comments section below.
Ad Choices