Cleveland Ohio - Friday night in downtown Cleveland the number one team in St. Ignatius (12-3) hosted Lutheran East (13-2), the number one team in division three. The Wildcats looked to avenge their 66-64 loss to Lutheran East last season. Quinn Woidke’s 24 point performance led them to the win.
I got to speak with big man Sam Springer about Woidke.
“He’s just a natural scorer. He can get to the hoop, he’ll shoot, he’s really good," said Springer. "When we need a spark he can go up and hit a shot.. he definitely led us tonight it was good.”
The Wildcats came out firing from three as they knocked down four in the first quarter. Both teams struggled to find a rhythm offensively early and they were tied at five halfway through the period.
The Wildcats started to get going with threes from Mike Lamirand and Sam Springer. They led 13-5 with two minutes to go. The Wildcats ended the quarter up 18-7 after a buzzer beating three from Matt Ellis.
In the second quarter Ignatius still searched for three point looks. The Wildcats got two in a row from Damon Friery and Quinn Woidke. They led 28-15 with two minutes to go. The half ended with Ignatius up 31-19.
Ignatius came out and carried their defensive momentum into the second half. They forced over five turnovers in the third quarter using their full court press.
Ignatius used their turnovers to create offense. They went on a 9-0 run around the five minute mark. Woidke was huge offensively, knocking down three threes in the period.
Quinn Woidke made an and one layup and a three and Reece Robinson knocked down a three as well. Ignatius led 40-22 with five minutes left in the quarter.
Jesse McCulloch started to get going. He scored three buckets in a row including an and one layup and a dunk. Woidke responded with two transition threes in a row. The Wildcats went into the fourth up 52-30.
Lutheran East came out in the fourth and fought until the very end. They cut the lead to 61-44 with four minutes to go after a three and an and one from Anthony Bruce. Ignatius closed out the remaining minutes and came out on top. The final score was 69-54.
St. Ignatius will be right back in action January 27th at Buchtel at 7:30 PM.