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01/23 - 7:30 PM Boys Basketball Final Cleveland Central Catholic 65 Villa Angela-St. Joseph 81
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Coming off its first loss of the season, Villa Angela-St. Joseph's boys basketball team showed no ill effects as it picked up a 81-65 home win over Central Catholic.
Led by 25 points from seniors Carlton Bragg and Brian Parker, the Vikings (10-1, 4-0), who are ranked No. 1 in the cleveland.com Top 25, won Friday's showdown between the two remaining teams with undefeated conference records in the North Coast League White Division.
"It feels really good coming off a hard loss," Parker said of Monday's defeat to Oak Hill Academy (Va.) at a national showcase in Massachusetts. "I appreciate coming back to our Village and getting a victory with our crowd behind us."
The Vikings were able to give themselves some early distance, as they closed the half on a 15-2 run to hit the break up 36-24 on No. 3 Central Catholic (10-2, 3-1). Parker was on his game from the start and had 14 points at the break.
What it means
Beating one of the top teams in the area by 16 points shows Villa Angela-St. Joseph is at another level right now. The Vikings' combination of dominating interior and smart guards means it will take the best possible effort from a team in Ohio to even think about beating them.
"The only thing important to me is to be the last guy standing in March," said Villa Angela-St. Joseph coach Babe Kwasniak. "I have one goal, and that is to get the school the sixth state championship."
The game also showed a glimpse of how dominant Bragg, who scored 21 points in the second half, can be. It's only a matter of time before he puts two of those halves together and has a game for the ages.
For Central Catholic, the loss shows there is still a gap between the Ironmen and the elite. The team has talent, but the intensity and focus was lacking at times, especially in the second quarter. That can't happen if Central Catholic wants to accomplish its goals.
Play of the game
With Central Catholic trailing 57-50 in the fourth quarter, the Ironmen were called for an intentional foul, which gave the Vikings two free throws and the ball. Parker hit both free throws, and then Mo Johnson scored, got fouled and hit a free throw to give the Vikings a 62-50 lead.
Crucial run
After Central Catholic held a brief 22-21 lead in the second quarter, the Vikings responded in a big way with a 15-2 run to close the half. Parker was in the zone at the time, as he scored eight of the 15 points due to some nice interior moves.
Who stood out for Central Catholic
Tervell Beck: The Ironmen junior finished strong to lead his team with 16 points. He took awhile to get confident, but once he was, he took it to the Vikings' interior players.
Antwon Lillard: As one of the few Ironmen who looked ready to go early, Lillard scored nine of his 14 points in the first half. However, once the defense adjusted, he struggled to get his shot off.
Kameron Locklear: One of the reasons Central Catholic was able to hang around in the game was the contribution from Locklear. The senior came off the bench to score 16 points.
Who stood out for Villa Angela-St. Joseph
Bragg: With 21 points in the second half, Bragg was the closer his team needed. He showed some range, as he hit two 3-pointers.
Johnson: The senior point guard controlled the tempo of the game. Despite only scoring five points, he did exactly what his team needed.
Parker: The senior made a living Friday battling around the basket with bigger players to finish with 25 points. He also did a nice job defensively on Lillard.
Central Catholic sound bites
Central Catholic coach Jeremy Holmes on why his team lost: "I thought our communication was bad. When you don't communicate against a good offense, it creates easy scoring opportunities, and that's what happened."
Holmes on Villa Angela-St. Joseph: "They definitely feed off each other very well, and it's admirable. I'm going to steal a couple things from them and hopefully we can give that to my team."
Villa Angela-St. Joseph sound bites
Kwasniak on Johnson: "Coach Holmes was his AAU coach, and I think they were trying to pressure him a little bit. I think Mo was the difference. I think Mo made big plays down the stretch. I've said this so many times that maybe he's not the best point guard in the state, but he's the best point guard for us."
Kwasniak on the defense: "We're so used to playing against the guys we're playing. We're playing against some really good players."
Kwasniak on Parker: "Defensively he used a lot of energy. That's the maturation of Brian Parker. He guarded one of the best players in the country in [Oak Hill Academy's Dwayne] Bacon, and he turned around and guarded one of the best players in the state in Lillard."
Parker on the win: "They are a very talented team, and they could have taken the lead if they wanted to, but we played a lot of tough games, and we know how to win."
What's next
Villa Angela-St. Joseph plays MacDuffie School (Mass.) in Dunk 4 Diabetes at Walsh University at 8:15 p.m. on Saturday.
Central Catholic plays 22 Feet Academy (S.C.) in Dunk 4 Diabetes at Walsh University at 11:15 a.m. on Sunday.
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.
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