The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Lake takes share of NCL Blue crown
One of Lake Catholic’s goals going into the 2019-20 season was to repeat as North Coast League champs, despite the sterner challenge of moving up to the Blue Division.
Feb. 14, the Cougars shook off a slow start and competed a season sweep of visiting Villa Angela-St. Joseph, 75-60. The win clinched at least a tie for the NCL Blue title, with Cleveland Central Catholic still holding a chance to tie if it can beat VASJ on Feb. 21.
Posing for pictures and cutting down the nets in their home gym afterward, it was abundantly clear just how sweet this title repeat is for the Cougars.
“Coming into the season that was our first and biggest goal, to win this conference,” senior Luka Eller said. “We know it’s one of the best conferences in all of Ohio. We did a great job executing. I’m just so happy for the guys.”
Lake Catholic (13-6, 6-2 NCL Blue) could not find any offensive rhythm in the first quarter, converting just 4 of 17 shots from the field. The Cougars’ defense kept them in it, as they limited the Vikings to 3 of 10 shooting, resulting in a 8-8 tie after one frame.
Senior Luke Frazier, in particular, had a rough go of it in the opening frame, missing each of his first six shot attempts.
After VASJ junior Jaden Hameed scored six points to put the Vikings up, 1410, in the second quarter, Frazier scored to end his shooting slump.
That first bucket was enough to spark Frazier, who found his stride and went on to score a gamehigh 30 points, 20 of that coming after halftime. He finished with three dunks, six assists, three blocks, three rebounds and two steals.
“I was a little off in the first quarter,” Frazier said. “But I knew if I just kept shooting that everything would fall, and if I just kept playing my game that it would all work out.”
Hameed scored 27 points to lead the Vikings, and his 12 in the second quarter helped maintain the lead for a while. But Frazier found teammate Christian DeMitro cutting to the basket, and DeMitro returned the favor by feeding Frazier for his first dunk.
That sequence, in the midst of a 12-3 run, gave Lake Catholic a 20-17 lead, and the Cougars never looked back. They finished the first half with a 28-23 lead, and pushed it out to 55-40 after the third quarter behind 13 points from Frazier and eight by Joe Malchesky.
“My hat’s off to St. Joe’s,” Lake Catholic coach Matt Moran said. “I thought they came in with a great game plan. We had to try to make a few adjustments. Luke started shooting the ball better. I just think some adjustments with screens and getting guys open helped us out tremendously, and defensively we got stops when we needed them.”
VASJ (8-11, 1-6) was missing junior Jonah Waag, who had to sit out due to a disciplinary measure. Freshman Anthony Ivey was impressive offensively, scoring all 21 points in the second half to back scoring leader Hameed.
Sophomore Noah Clarke and junior Kevin Eiseman each pulled down four rebounds for the Vikings, and sophomore B.K. Kwasniak added four assists and three boards. VASJ will travel to Mentor on Feb. 17, in a game that will be broadcast on WINT-AM 1330.
“I thought it went much better, actually,” VASJ coach Babe Kwasniak said in comparing the Vikings’ two meetings with Lake Catholic this season. “We hung in there, and I thought we had a really good game plan. They have two D-I players that are pretty good with a great coach and a great coaching staff.
“I was proud of the kids, I thought we played hard. Missing Jonah didn’t help, but I thought some of our young kids really played well. The Ivey kid as a freshman showed some promise. I thought our two sophomores, Noah Clarke and my son, played their tails off and made a big difference.”
Eller had a double-double of 14 points and 17 rebounds, as Lake Catholic enjoyed a 30-19 rebounding advantage. DeMitro added 12 points, and Malchesky chipped in 10 points and six rebounds.
Lake Catholic will host Holy Name on Feb.18. The Cougars have won six straight games as they continue to steamroll toward the postseason, where they have earned the No. 2 seed in the Division II Ashtabula District.
“We have some role players that are starting to step up for us offensively and defensively,” Moran said. “(This win) just shows that these guys are believing in each other, and that’s the most important thing.
“We have a grind next week, with Holy Name, then Padua, and we finish with Mentor. We’ll enjoy this today, then get ready for Holy Name.”
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