The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
LIONS COMPLETE SWEEP OF RIVAL COUGARS
Going all the way back to the 2005-2006 season, no seasons could be found in which Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin beat archrival Lake Catholic twice in one season.
You can find one now. Playing without all-time leading scorer Evan Dugger, who was out with a knee injury, the host Lions broke open a tie game with a 23-7 third quarter, and beat the Cougars, 66-54, on Feb. 2 to complete a season sweep for what may be the first time ever.
In front of a large and vocal crowd that featured two energetic student sections, NDCL junior Angelo Tamburrino poured in a game-high and career-high 25 points to lead the way for NDCL.
In the absence of Dugger, the Lions needed someone to step up offensively. Not only did Tamburrino have his best offensive game as a varsity player, but in fact all eight players who saw the floor scored for NDCL.
“It means the world to us,” Tamburrino said. “That’s our rival, and it’s always going to be a close game, but in both games we adjusted and came out on top.”
Lake Catholic played in a zone defense right from the start knowing Dugger would be out, but the Lions knocked down two 3s early to set the tone.
Cougars junior guard Ace Peterlin sank a 3 to start the second quarter and give Lake Catholic a 14-12 lead, but the Lions’ fast pace and strong rebounding fueled an 11-2 run that put them in front, 23-16.
Lake Catholic (6-10, 1-2 Crown Conference) tied the game going into the half at 25-25 on a 9-2 run that featured seven made free throws.
NDCL completely changed the trajectory of the game in the third quarter. Paced by a defensive effort in which the Lions were able to deny penetration and hold the Cougars to one shot on most trips
down the floor, an effective transition game, and four more 3-balls, NDCL took a 48-32 advantage into the fourth quarter.
An and-1 bucket by Tamburrino extended the Lions’ lead to 56-41 with 5:19 left to play. Lake Catholic cut its deficit to 61-52 on a 3 by junior Jacob Rozman, but would get no closer.
As the strains of Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA” emanated from NDCL’s locker room afterward, the Lions were able to celebrate a rare feat — beating their rivals twice in one season, having also won at Lake Catholic on Jan. 12, 67-56.
“I don’t know if it has ever happened,” NDCL coach Pat Vuyancih said. “They told me that when we beat them at their place a couple weeks ago, that was the first time they had done that since the late 90s.”
NDCL (9-7, 3-0 Crown) shot 43% from the field (25 of 58), and knocked down eight triples against the Cougars’ zone, in 17 tries. Senior Jaxon Mangelluzzi scored eight points, and sophomore Mason Pesho added seven. The Lions forced 17 turnovers and won the battle of the boards, 31-24.
“We know we’re a young team, and we know he’s a big scorer, and a huge part of this team,” Pesho said regarding the game plan with Dugger out. “But we played so hard that we made up for some of the things we were missing without him. On defense, we bust our butts trying to get in front (of the ball) and stay in front.”
Lake Catholic finished with four players in double figures, and almost every Cougar that played scored at least once. But being outscored by 16 points in the third quarter was too much to overcome.
“The third obviously was a bad one for us. That was the game,” Lake Catholic coach Matt Vespa said. “We talked about how important the first two minutes of the third quarter were, but we struggled in the passing game. We came out and they punched us in the mouth, punched us in the mouth again, and just for good measure, they punched us in the mouth a third time.”
Lake Catholic will try to turn its fortunes around when it hosts Cornerstone Christian on Feb. 6. NDCL, on the other hand, has won four of its last five, and will try to keep the good times rolling in a visit to VASJ on Feb. 6.
“They’re good,” Vuyancih said in anticipation of a trip to the storied Viking Village. “(Coach Ashen Ward) really has them playing well. They really get the ball up the floor well. They’ve got some tough kids and they have some guys that can drain it.
“The Viking Village, the tradition there … most of these kids have never played there. They’ll see that big 32 on the floor (for Clark Kellogg) and they’ll see all those banners, and it’s a smaller floor than we’re used to. We’ll have to make some adjustments, but I think we’ll be ready.”