No. 6 VASJ snaps No. 19 Euclid's eight-game win streak, 58-43, in rivalry matchup

EUCLID, Ohio — Separated by just a few blocks, Villa Angela-St. Joseph and Euclid met Saturday night with nothing more than pride at stake.

They are not conference rivals.

They could not even influence their postseason seeding because voting for that ended earlier in the day.

Nothing on the line? That still did not stop the gym at Euclid High School to fill up for VASJ's 58-43 win that snapped the Panthers' eight-game win streak.

Brothers coaching on opposite benches, cousins playing in rival uniforms, many of them had ties to the Vikings. Three Euclid players transferred from VASJ in the past few seasons.

"That meant a lot," VASJ senior forward Jason Priah said. "We wanted to get this one bad, especially knowing how big the rivalry is the last three years."

Priah's effort, which included 14 points and 12 rebounds, kept the Vikings perfect in their rivalry during his high school career. That mattered to him.

It mattered to Latrace Jackson, the 6-9 senior forward who spurred VASJ's start with three first-quarter blocks.

It mattered to Khalil Mitcham, another stingy 6-6 forward whose slam dunk in the closing minutes helped seal the victory.

"It's a neighborhood rivalry," Mitcham said, "it's a fun rivalry. Every year we got at these guys with as much intensity as possible."

The Vikings (13-4), ranked No. 6 in this week's cleveland.com Top 25, led from start to finish. They built a 10-point lead by the second quarter. No. 19 Euclid (12-6) pulled within one in the third, before the visitors pulled away.

"They play in front of a packed house almost every night," Euclid coach T.J. Kwasniak said, "and I knew our kids hadn't seen it.

Kwasniak previously coached and played at VASJ. He added, "We weren't experienced enough in that type of environment."

Junior point guard Garvin Clarke led the Panthers with 16 points. Senior forward Mario Lacy added 14 rebounds, including a putback that pulled Euclid within 31-30 of VASJ's lead in the third quarter.

The Vikings answered with an 11-3 run that included sophomore Jonah Waag hitting Jaden Hameed in the corner for a 3-pointer in front of the VASJ bench. Another sophomore, Hameed finished with a game-high 19 points.

"A couple of plays Jaden Hameed made just in terms of intelligence and basketball I.Q. were incredible," VASJ coach Babe Kwasniak said.

Additionally, Waag added six assists off the bench as the two sophomores stirred the offense with senior Jordan Calhoun.

"We know that our guards are probably the best guards in the city," Priah said. "We feed off them. So when they get into the paint, they have multiple options: they can score, they can dish it off or dump it down to one of the bigs."

Priah and his teammates can enjoy this. They don't play again until Friday at North Coast League-rival Benedictine. Euclid is home Tuesday to Mentor, which leads the Greater Cleveland Conference by two games.

The Panthers' recent eight-game win streak, which began after a loss at Mentor, likely pushed them to a high seed for the Division I Solon District tournament. They will find out Sunday.

VASJ will find out its bracket for the Division II Ashtabula Lakeside District, which it won last year.

After a week that began with a 12-point home loss to Cleveland Central Catholic, the Vikings closed with double-digit wins against Padua and Euclid on consecutive nights.

"We might have the toughest schedule in Ohio," Priah said, "but I feel like it's just preparing us for March. That loss to CCC prepared us for today, and that's just what it's all about: just getting ready for the rest of the season."

Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on Twitter (@mgoul) or email ([email protected]). Or log in and leave a message below in the comments section.