The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
VASJ sets up rematch with Lake Catholic
Villa Angela-St. Joseph seemed to have things in cruise control in the fourth quarter of its Division II district semifinal against Glenville at Lakeside High School on March 8.
A layup by Jerry Higgins gave the Vikings a 64-51 lead. But things changed in a hurry.
A 13-1 run by the Tarblooders, capped by back-to-back 3s by Dalvin Cravin, made it a 65-64 game with 1:03 left in the game.
As he has so many times throughout his four years at VASJ, Higgins saved the day. After a pair of free throws by Jaden Hameed put the Vikings up 3, Higgins stole the ball from a Glenville guard and laid it in at the other end for a 69-64 VASJ lead with 30 seconds left.
Glenville could not connect on a last pair of looks, and Higgins sank two more from the line for a 71-64 Viking victory.
The win sets up the much-anticipated rematch between VASJ and Lake Catholic, this time for the district crown, on March 10 at Lakeside.
“I was a little in panic mode in this game, since my Dad wasn’t here next to me,” VASJ coach Babe Kwasniak said regarding his father and assistant coach, Tedd, who is in the hospital with an illness. “I’m a lot better when he’s next to me. (Glenville) played good enough to deserve to beat us. One thing we’ve learned at this time of year — all that matters is to survive and advance.”
Higgins led all scorers with 19 points. Hameed and Latrace Jackson added 12 each, and Jason Priah contributed 10.
VASJ held a 34-27 lead at halftime, and was still up by seven, 53-46, after three quarters.
The Vikings connected on 23 of 35 shots from the foul line.
Lamont Johnson paced Glenville, which won the Senate League, with 18 points. Cravin added 17, which included five 3s, and Aaron Loines produced 10.
“We never gave up — six or seven points (deficit) is nothing in high school basketball,” Glenville coach Michael Holt said. “Our guys were focused and playing hard. But unfortunately it didn’t come out for us. Higgins is the key to that team. He’s just non-stop. He kind of reminds me of John Bagley.”
Both coaches remarked that they missed the old high school tournament format, with all games played at the district sites and the doubleheaders that used to be played. Kwasniak noted the large crowd for the Lake Catholic-Edgewood Semifinal on March 7, and the considerably smaller turnout thanks to the bad weather and two Cleveland teams playing in Ashtabula.
“Playing these games on separate nights is just silly,” Kwasniak said. “I think this is one of the best events that there is. Have the games on the same day. Give these kids what they deserve.” Holt concurred. “Kwas and I were talking about that before the game, that we miss the doubleheader games,” Holt said.
On March 10, the rematch the area has been waiting for will take place when the Cougars and Vikings square off in a rematch of their February 10 game won by the Vikings, 66-61.
“If we play like we did today on Saturday, we’ll lose,” Kwasniak said. “I don’t blame the kids, I just didn’t coach a very good game. I’m missing the best assistant coach in the state of Ohio. He’s in his hospital bed following along on Twitter, and he’s just glad we won the game.”
“We’d much rather beat (Lake Catholic) Saturday than we did the last time. They’re loaded, they’re well-coached. It’s going to be fun. Hopefully we’ll have good weather, and hopefully the place will be packed, because we’re two really evenly matched basketball teams.”