Inside No. 2 Villa Angela-St. Joseph boys basketball's 75-66 win against No. 4 Central Catholic: Top plays, stats, reaction (video)

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Villa Angela-St. Joseph boys basketball team entered Friday night on a two-game losing streak, but bounced back with a 75-66 victory against Cleveland Central Catholic.

The No. 2 Vikings (16-4, 8-0) got off to a slow start, as the Ironmen, No. 4 in the cleveland.com Top 25, built a 20-11 lead after the first quarter.

Senior guard Brian Parker scored 18 points for the Vikings, and as coach Babe Kwasniak said after the game, he knew his senior guard would do whatever it took to get the win.

"I told him in the huddle that we need to get this game, and he just had a look on his face that he was going to get it done," Kwasniak said. "He has matured so much throughout his four years playing for us, and he just made so many big plays for us when we needed him to tonight."

Tervell Beck scored 14 points in the first half for Central Catholic (17-4, 7-2), and finished with a game-high 26.

What it means

The Vikings entered this game with consecutive losses to St. Vincent-St. Mary and St. Edward, and this game started off in favor of Central Catholic.

However, unlike the game against St. Edward, it was Villa Angela-St. Joseph that took over in the final quarter, making the big plays late to get the win.

Losing to the Irish and Eagles is nothing to be ashamed of, but getting a big win against the Ironmen has given the Vikings the momentum back heading to the tournament.

Central Catholic played much of this game without Antwon Lillard due to foul trouble, but still had plenty of chances to win the game. The Ironmen still have the capability of making a deep run, and could pose the biggest threat to St. Vincent-St. Mary of making the state tournament.

Play of the game

Carlton Bragg missed a couple of dunks early, but that did not stop Parker from feeding his big man. Parker was able to take the ball from the 3-point line into the paint, where he dropped a perfect pass to Bragg for the monster dunk.

The Ironmen would never threaten again.

Crucial run

The Vikings took a two-point lead into the final quarter, but a quick seven-point flurry to start the fourth quarter gave the team the cushion it needed.

Who stood out for Villa Angela-St. Joseph

Bragg: The Kansas commit missed some easy shots early, but got going late and made some big plays late. His emphatic dunk was the cherry on top for the Vikings.

Parker: The Marist recruit and guard does a little bit of everything for the Vikings, and finished with a team-high 18. He spent much of the night guarding Beck, and even brought the ball up the floor a lot.

Who stood out for Central Catholic

Beck: The junior was on fire at the beginning, scoring 14 points in the first quarter. He did a great job of scoring all over the court, showing a nice stroke from the 3-point line.

Desmond Crosby: The point guard of the team has a winner's mentality, and will not back down from anyone. He finished with 14 points.

Villa Angela-St. Joseph sound bites

Kwasniak on his team bouncing back from a tough past two games: "It means a lot because we were able to go beat a very good team. These guys take so much unfair criticism, but they did a great job of bouncing back. I love this team as much as any of my teams, and nights like tonight is why."

Parker on winning the conference: "That is one of our goals in the season, and to be able to accomplish it is definitely a great feeling. We want to win many more championships this year, but this is a great start to reaching our other goals."

What's next

Cleveland Central Catholic vs. Holy Name, Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

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Contact high school sports reporter Mark Kern by email (mkern@cleveland.com) or Twitter (@Markkern11) Or log in and leave a message in the comments section below.