The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Vikings charge past Pirates, into final
VASJ’s Hameed leads way in third quarter
No single player is the heir apparent to Villa Angela-St. Joseph’s Jerry Higgins.
If anyone has the ability, though, it’s sophomore Jaden Hameed.
The 5-foot-11 guard led the Vikings in scoring during the regular season. When VASJ’s season hung in the balance in a Division II Ashtabula District semifinal against Perry on March 6, he dominated the third quarter to help turn the Vikings’ halftime deficit into a lead.
Hameed scored nine of his 13 points in the third, forced a handful of turnovers and, alongside classmate Jonah Waag, set an example to elevate VASJ’s defensive intensity. Hameed scored as many points as the Pirates in the third quarter and the Vikings proceeded to eliminate Perry, 59-54.
Senior Graham Koppelman led VASJ with 14 points and Khalil Mitcham added 10. Hameed’s free throws with 3.3 seconds to play iced the Vikings’ return to the Ashtabula District final March 9, where they will defend their district title against Lake Catholic or Geneva.
“He’s always got those big plays,” Koppelman said. “He’s always got those plays that turn the whole game around. That’s why we love to have him on our team.”
VASJ and Perry traded baskets to open the game before the Pirates went up, 17-14, after a quarter. While the Vikings were flat-footed, Perry opened up a 23-14 edge as Jake Reid and Nate Cubbison hit 3-pointers to begin the second quarter.
Koppelman made four 3-pointers and scored all 14 of his points in the first half to keep VASJ in the game. His layup in the final minute of the second quarter helped pull the Vikings within four, 36-32, by halftime.
“If he doesn’t make a couple of those in the first half,” coach Babe Kwasniak said, “this is a done deal. We’re done.”
When a sixth trip to the state final four appeared in early jeopardy, VASJ opened the second half with a 10-0 run. Hameed and Waag applied pressure to Perry’s backcourt that led to a dunk for Mitcham and alley-oop connection between Hameed and Latrace Jackson. Hameed scored twice on tough drives to the basket and his 3-pointer put the Vikings up, 47-39.
Perry whittled its deficit to four, 49-45, headed to the fourth quarter and remained within striking distance throughout the VASJ’s Latrace Jackson defends Perry’s Drew Schiano on March 6 at Lakeside.
period. Drew Schiano hit a pair of free throws that made the game a one-possession affair, 57-54, in the final minute. The Pirates had two possessions in the final 40 seconds and VASJ twice turned them over — the second a steal by Hameed to earn his clinching free throws.
“We just knew we had to fight and fight through adversity,” Hameed said. “We were just going to stick together and fight back for the win.”
Schiano, a junior, led all scorers with 17 points, Cubbison added 12 and Jaylen Anderson chipped in 10. Coach Al Iacofano was enthused by the Pirates’ start to the game, as they knocked down early shots, developed confidence and kept the Vikings in check.
When VASJ hastened tempo in the second half, Perry’s missed shots led to long rebounds and transition chances for the Vikings.
“Number one, they elevated pressure,” Iacofano said. “Number two, when you don’t come out and knock down a couple shots, take control of the quarter and allow a team to get momentum, between those two ingredients it’s going to lead to some tough style of play.”
Schiano and Cubbison, the team’s leading scorers, will return for their senior seasons in 2019-20. Anderson, now a two-year starter, is a rising junior.
Iacofano is appreciative of his seniors, who endured a three-win season two years ago. The year earlier, he told them as freshmen he expected the Pirates — 2016 Ashtabula District champions — to again play for a district title by the time Jake Reid, Matt Cool, Spencer Kane, Dom Ford and their classmates were seniors.
After a 1-3 start to the 2018-19 season, Perry won 18 of 20 games to win the CVC Chagrin title and return to the district round.
“These are guys that stuck with it,” Iacofano said, “with three wins and never quit the program or never got down on themselves. They understood the big picture.”
“If he doesn’t make a couple of those in the first half, this is a done deal. We’re done.” — VASJ coach Babe Kwasniak