AKRON, Ohio — Lunden McDay had 20 points and Seth Wilson added 19 as St. Vincent-St. Mary broke open a close game with a dominant third quarter Wednesday night, taking down rival Hoban, 69-48 in boys basketball action at JAR Arena.
The Fighting Irish, the top-ranked team in the cleveland.com boys basketball Top 25, is 12-3, while Hoban, ranked No. 7, falls to 11-4.
The Knights led after one quarter, 20-14, and the half ended with St. Vincent-St. Mary holding a narrow 31-29 lead. But the game changed right from the start of the third quarter. The Irish put down the clamps defensively, forcing six turnovers on the way to a 15-4 run that opened a 46-33 lead.
“We added more pressure,” McDay said. “In the first half we just pressured them in the halfcourt. In the second half we advanced our pressure to full court. That’s when we slowed them down and got them to turn the ball over."
Seven players scored during that 15-4 run as the Irish demonstrated their superior depth.
“We have a lot of depth and we are a very experienced team,” St. Vincent-St. Mary coach Dru Joyce said. “Last year we were very inexperienced, but we were able to win a state championship. This year we brought back a lot. These guys have stepped up in a big way and they realize it’s all on them now.”
The lead reached 15 points after three quarters, 50-35, and only got bigger as the fourth quarter progressed.
“I take a lot of positives out of this game,” Hoban coach T.K. Griffith said. “They’re the No. 1 team in Northeast Ohio and we went toe-to-toe with them in the first half. I thought we played with a lot of courage and a lot of heart in the first half. I thought the first half was indicative of what we could do on a solid performance and the second half was indicative of what we could do if it gets away from us.”
Any remote chance the Knights had of making a comeback was throttled when Matt Salopek and Quan Easterling collided early in the fourth period. The two standout football players flew into each other, with Salopek losing half of his right front tooth and Easterling suffering a cut on his head.
“There wasn’t much wind in our sails at that point,” Griffith said. “But you take those two out of the game and we’re a different team. That didn’t help us.”
In the end it was just too much McDay and Wilson and too much Irish.
“I just wanted to win,” Wilson said. “It’s the seniors’ last time playing Hoban and I wanted to get a win for them. That’s what it was all about, getting that win.”
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