Sunday, March 25, 2001
Elder falls short in state final
St. Ignatius wins Division I state title, 49-46
By Dave Schutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Elder's Mike Mahon (35) is consoled by teammate Phil Bengel.
(Jeff Swinger photos)
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COLUMBUS — The St. Ignatius Wildcats stole a page out of the Greater Catholic League basketball notebook on defense and used it to defeat the Elder Panthers.
Parlaying a tough man-to-man defense with clutch second-half free throw shooting, the Wildcats captured the Division I state championship with a 49-46 victory before a crowd of 15,670 at the Jerome Schottenstein Center Saturday night.
The state championship is the Wildcats' first in five appearances. Elder was denied a fourth state championship. The Panthers previously won in 1973, 74 and 93.
Elder had a chance to send the game into overtime but Tim Schenke's off-balance 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining was off the mark, setting off St. Ignatius' celebration.
“The play was to set a double screen for Mike (Mahon) and a single flare for me,” Elder point guard Jake Bazeley said. “They covered both very well and Tim had to shoot the ball.”
Jake Bazeley
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Although the Wildcats' defense was the difference, Elder also went aggressively after the Wildcats. The Panthers limited St. Ignatius to two field goals during the second half, both 3-pointers.
But the Wildcats converted 11-of-16 free throws in the second half to secure the victory.
“We had a chance to tie it, but we couldn't hit the shot,” Elder coach Joe Schoenfeld said. “Part of it was their defense that took us out of our offense.”
St. Ignatius coach Brian Becker also credited the defense as the difference.
“We've played stellar defense all year,” Becker said. “We thought if we could get Elder off tempo, we could have our way with them. It was a hard-fought game and we made Elder work for what they got.”
Tim Schenke
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As they did against Massillon Jackson in the semifinals on Friday, St. Ignatius used a second-quarter run (19-6) to open up an eight-point halftime lead that Elder wasn't able to overcome during the final 16 minutes.
The closest the Panthers came in the second half was 47-46 with 26.3 seconds remaining after which the Wildcats converted crucial free throws to put it away.
“The difference was the second quarter,” Schoenfeld said. “We had six turnovers and only six shots. The game changed and they got too big a lead. We could never get over the hump.”
St. Ignatius' Jonathan Gannon made two key free throws with 16.2 seconds remaining to give the Wildcats their three-point advantage.
In early February, Elder defeated St. Ignatius, then No.1 in the state, 82-67 at Elder. This game was in sharp contrast with the Wildcats scoring their lowest point total of the season.
Scott Benken
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“We wanted the rematch with Elder because we have been beating all the teams that beat us early in the season,” Becker said. “We got a lot of monkeys off our backs.”
It was too much to expect Elder another performance like the Panthers did against Columbus Brookhaven Friday night in a 68-50 victory over the previously undefeated and No.1 Bearcats.
Parlaying sharp passing, with crisp screens and aggressive rebounding, the Panthers took a 7-4 lead and extended it to 18-13 at the first-quarter break. Scott Benken scored six points and Phil Bengel and Bazeley four apiece.
But St. Ignatius stepped it up a notch on defense to start the second quarter. Wildcat guards Rahsaan Benton, Gannon and Peter Koch applied pressure on the outside with Patrick Massey and Rory Hennessey controlling the middle.
Inspired by the increased intensity of play and up-tempo pace, the Wildcats went on a 10-0 run to assume a 23-20 advantage with 4:33 remaining in the quarter.
Until substitute Phil Kroeger scored Elder's first field goal with 1:27 remaining, the Panthers converted only two-of-four free throws. Another field goal by Schenke cut the halftime deficit to 32-24.
Stephen Miller tries to hide his disappointment.
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St. Ignatius converted 14-of-26 shots from the field during the first half (53.8 percent) and two-of-three from the free throw line while turning the ball over only four times.
The Wildcat's tenacious defense took its toll on Elder shooters. The Panthers shot only 40 percent from the field (eight-of-20) but stayed in the game by converting seven-of-nine free throws. Elder had seven turnovers during the half.
“They pressured the ball better than any team we played,” Bazeley said. “We couldn't get our shots off. I thought we would win because we were the tougher team the first time we played them. Tonight they were tougher.”
Elder shot only 35.1 percent from the field while St. Ignatius converted 43.2 percent.
ST. IGNATIUS (49) — Hennessey 1-2 1-2 3, Massey 4-4 1-2 9, Gannon 2-4 3-4 7, Koch 0-5 -2 1, Benton 4-13 2-312, Salopek 3-5 2-2 10, Kolwicz 0-1 0-0 0, Salata 1-2 3-4 5, Moviel 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 16-37 13-19 49.
ELDER (46) — Benken 4-6 5-5 13, Schenke 1-7 4-6 6, Bengel 1-2 3-4 5, Bazeley 5-10 6-6 16, Mahon 1-9 0-0 3, Kroeger 1-3 1-2 3. Totals: 13-37 19-23 46.
St. Ignatius ....... 13 19 7 10—49
Elder ....... 18 6 8 14—46
3-pointers: Elder (1-9) Mahon. SI (4-11) Benton 2, Salopek 2. Rebounds: E 24 (Schenke 7). SI 28 (Hennessey 10). Assists: E 6 (Schenke 2, Bazeley 2). SI 9 (Gannon 3). Turnovers: SI 15.E 16. Records: Elder 21-7, St. Ignatius 25-2. Officials: Russell Pitts, Richard Kaifas, Thomas Donovan. Attendance: 15,670. Total Tournament Attendance: 177,667 (record).
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Elder falls short in state final
