Holy Trinity Lights Up The Gym, Beats St. Francis of Assisi 50-30

Holy Trinity and St. Francis of the Assisi come out fighting in the first quarter.

Some quick ball movement by Holy Trinity contributed to their early lead. St. Francis of the Assisi had some connections; however, they could not execute offensive attacks due to the vigorous defense by Holy Trinity.

At the end of the half, #2 Anthony Anghilante led his team with 20 points for Holy Trinty, while St. Francis of the Assisi had an equal scoring distribution.

37-16 was the score at the half with Holy Trinity in the lead.

The second half was very intense, with some big defensive plays by St. Francis of the Assisi.

Holy Trinity seemed to slow their offense down and made smarter plays. St. Francis of the Assisi played strong throughout this half and only let Holy Trinity score 13 points.

Anthony Anghilante led Holy Trinity with 22 points and 3 rebounds. For St. Francis of the Assisi, there was an even distribution of top scorers: Joe Locker (6), Bruno Cook (6), and Dominic Dunlevy (5).

The final score was 50-30 with Holy Trinity taking home the victory.

St. Robert and William Stymie St. Raphael

St. Robert and William and St. Raphael struggled to shoot the ball early with the score being 6-4 at the end of the 1st quarter.

St. Roberts/Williams made it an emphasis to pressure St Raphael early as they caused early turnovers which helped them push the pace in transition early. They also went to a zone at the end of the half which gave St Raphael some trouble.

To start the second half St Raphael came out hungry defensively as they started to get opportunities off of turnovers with their press in the beginning of the half.

To close out the game St Raphael came out with fight trying to rally back but St Roberts/Williams held strong for the win, 30-21.

Jaevon Jahi were big in the win for St Roberts/Williams as Jaevon finished with 11 points and Jahi ended with 9 points and 6 rebounds.

St. Pashcal Holds on after Big First Half; Beats St. Gabriel

St Paschal came out with a roaring start in the beginning of the game with a significant lead. 

St Gabriel worked hard to change the momentum of the game with a few key defensive passes. 

Going into the half St Paschal pulled away with a 22-8 lead. 

Coming out of halftime St Gabriel found the spark they needed and closed in quickly on St Paschal’s lead putting some pressure on the St Paschal defense. 

Tensions were high in a very back and forth fourth quarter but ultimately St Paschal was able to secure the win with a final score of 32-21

St Gabriel’s leaders of the game were Blake Dumermuth with 8 points and 2 rebounds and Alex Richtie with 6 points and 2 rebounds.

St Paschal’s leaders of the game were Brayden Titas with 10 points and 6 rebounds and Owen Slmec with 8 points and 1 rebound. 

Gesu Wins with Big Defensive Stand; Beats Our Lady of the Lake

The Gesu Bulldogs faced off against Our Lady of the Lake in the first 8th Grade Boys game of the Morrissey Classic.

Both teams worked well throughout the first quarter. Guy Dominic led the way for OLL with 8 points and 4 rebounds at the half. Trip Doyle led the first half scoring with four points for Gesu. 

A critical steal from Connor Plato led to a Teagan Fischel 3 pointer at the buzzer that put Gesu within three, and a 21-19 score at halftime. 

The third quarter opened up with the Bulldogs taking the momentum and going up 29-25 into the fourth quarter.

Some impressive ball movement by both teams contributed to this intense, close game.

#11 for Our Lady of the Lake played hard in the paint to make some important shots that helped lead his team within 2 with 4 minutes left of the game, 33-31 with Gesu in the lead. 

The fourth quarter was full of excitement as it remained close. With ten seconds left and a two point lead Gesu’s Connor Plato had a chance to extend their lead but Our Lady of the Lake got a chance to win on a full court inbound but the Bulldogs were able to hold defensively until the time ran out.

For Our Lady of the Lake Guy Dominic led the way with 16 points 11 rebounds and 2 assists and for the victorious Bulldogs of Gesu Teagan Fishel led the way with 15 points.  

Big Second Half Helps St. Francis Roll By St. Paschal

The St. Paschal Knights and St. Francis Lions faced off to open their respective weekends at the Morrissey Classic.

The Lions offense exploded early, but the Knights found ways to keep themselves in the game. At the half St. Francis led 17-9.

The Lions offense kept it going in half two as they pulled ahead 41-21 midway through the fourth quarter.

Emon Everett led the way with 17 points and double digit rebounding for St. Francis. For St Francis it was Joey Puletti with 6 points. St. Francis took the win 45-23 in game one. 

Lake Catholic knocks off Gesu (7th Grade)

GESU Bulldogs v. LCA

At the start of the first quarter of the game, Lakewood Catholic Academy and GESU came out strong.

LCA played tough defense and made some impressive layups and shots to make them take the lead by the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was an intense battle with both teams’ great blocks and shots.

Leading LCA was #25 James Dissel with 10 points and 3 rebounds and #31 Harper Carroll with 8 points.

For Gesu, #2 Connor Klug lead the offense with 7 points.

The score at the end of the half was 24-15, with Lakewood Catholic Academy in the lead.

In the third quarter, both teams coordinated fast ball movement. Gesu came out fighting to lessen LCA’s lead.

Gesu’s Connor Klug was able to execute some impressive plays, where he gained 8 more points.

At the end of the third quarter, the score was 35-27, with LCA still in the lead.

The fourth quarter was a close battle, with both teams creating important defensive plays and offensive attacks.

All in all, some stat leaders for Gesu include #2 Connor Klug, who had 20 points and 7 rebounds, #0 Pete King with 6 points and 2 rebounds, and #24 Carter Pinney

LCA’s leaders of the game were Harper Carroll with 22 points, 5 rebounds and one assist as well as James Dissell with 19 points, 4 rebounds, and one assist.

Gesu’s leaders of the game were Connor Klug with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and one assist and Pete King with 6 points, 2 rebounds, and one assist.

The final score of the game was 53-38 Lakewood Catholic Academy.

Second Half Offensive Push Helps Holy Trinity Take Home the Trophy

After a wild and thrilling championship game, Holy Trinity took home the trophy over St. Gabriel in a wild fashion with a final score of 41-25.

The boys started in a defensive battle, but Robert Bonchak wanted to get on the board for St. Gabriel. He went to the line in the first minutes and eliminated the double doughnuts on the board. 

Holy Trinity responded with points behind the arc. Joseph Maloof swished a three to take the lead for St. Gabriel. 

Many players found the basket for both teams in the first quarter. At the end of eight minutes, the score was 11-6. This quarter also included a buzzer-beater by Maloof.

St. Gabriel wanted to turn things around early because they wanted to win. They proceeded to turn this second quarter into an intense game, which went back and forth for most of the second quarter.

With minutes left in the quarter, Holy Trinity hit a spark and went on a run. At the end of the half, Holy Trinity led over St. Gabriel by a score of 20-15. Joseph Maloof led Holy Trinity with 11 points. Robert Bronchak and Nathan Zappitelli each had 5 points for St. Gabriel, which they are tied for leading their team at the half in points.

The first half of the third quarter was very defensive. Steals, blocks, and turnovers occurred nearly every second. With four minutes left in the third quarter, Holy Trinity found the spark that they had in the second quarter. At the end of three quarters, Holy Trinity expanded their lead by a score of 34-18 with one quarter left in the game. 

The fourth quarter was back and forth and St. Gabriel did not give up. At the end of the day, Holy Trinity wins by a score of 41-25 and they are champions of the tourney.

Collin Crocher and Brody Bohr were selected to the all-tournament team on the men's side at the end of the game.

St. Raphael Holds on in Final Minutes; Crowned Girls Champions

The first quarter opened with Erin Dean making a foul shot after getting a steal and being fouled on her way to the basket for Holy Trinity. Avery Bellack and Kiera Kette both hit deep two-point shots to make it 5-2 St. Raphael after the first quarter. 

St. Raphael came down and scored early in the second quarter, but Lindsey Murphy for Holy Trinity came down and hit the first three-point shot of the game to make it a 2 point game. Erin Dean was fouled when she made her layup on an inbound play, then converted from the stripe for a three-point play to take the lead for Holy Trinity. Gwen Zawadski for St. Raphael made a layup to tally 4 points for herself at half-time while taking the lead 11-9. 
            Gemma Wichmann started off the quarter with a fast break layup to extend the St. Raphael lead to 4. Lindsey Murphy hit her second three-point shot of the game with 4 minutes left in the third quarter to come within one point of St. Raphael. Lilian Kuhlman for St. Raphael hit a big two-point shot late in the third quarter to extend the lead for her team heading into the fourth quarter. 

            At the start of the fourth quarter, Megan Martin hit a corner three-point shot to tie the game. Avery Bellack responded for St. Raphael with a three of her own to make it a 22-19 game with 4 minutes to go. St. Raphael held the ball to run the clock out most of the fourth quarter. St. Raphael won the game 24-19 over Holy Trinity. 

St. Raphael Takes Control Early, Cruises to Victory Over Gesu

St. Raphael took an early lead in the first quarter of their game against the Gesu Bulldogs thanks to All Tournament Team player Luke Simms and Luke Syndilla. St. Raphael started the game with tremendous defense at half-court to take control early. 

            The pair helped to maintain the 23-13 lead at halftime with 9 points from Luke Simms while Luke Syndilla had 6 points and 3 rebounds at the half. St. Raphael kept playing their aggressive half-court defense and limited the Bulldogs to very few offensive rebounds. The Bulldogs got off to a slow start, but Cason Diliuo tallied 4 points and 2 rebounds in the first half. 

            Gesu found some fire in the third quarter led by All-Tournament Team player Jayden Amos with 10 points and 6 rebounds. St. Raphael continued to play an aggressive game at half-court throughout the third quarter causing for more fast break points. 

            The fourth quarter began with more aggressive offense from Gesu. The Bulldogs were able to force the ball to their All-Tournament player Jayden Amos who finished the game with 14 points 6 rebounds and 1 block. Jayden’s individual effort along with 6 points from Tommy Cummings and 4 points from Cason Diliuo was not enough to beat St. Raphael today. Luke Simms and Brody Spicer had matching 12-point games for St. Raphael today. Luke Syndilla and Rolin Schlass each had 6 points to help the team and secure the victory against Gesu this afternoon. 

Gesu’s Fourth Quarter Sparks for Strong Comeback Led by Tristan Williams

The Gesu Bulldogs trailed for most of the game.

Both teams defense played well in the first few minutes, as the first two points of the game came from St. Robert Williams. The Bulldogs called an early timeout. 

After the timeout, St Robert Williams went on a 4-0 run to keep the score even through the first half of the first quarter. 

The first quarter proved a good one as the Warriors led after the quarter 10-4. Elizabeth Dunmire led with 8 points in the quarter for the Warriors. 

To start the second quarter, both teams put up some shots, but it was GESU who started off strong and taking two points in the first half of the second quarter. The defensive rebounding for the Bulldogs was also strong. 

Elizabeth Dunmire had an and-1 with just 5 minutes left in the half, bringing her total up to 11 points. At halftime, the Warriors of St. Robert Williams led 17-12. For GESU, Tristian Williams had 6 points at halftime.

Both teams looked to close out the game with their defensive mindsets heading into the second half of a close game. 

Once again, GESUs strong defense led the Warriors to a timeout early on in the third quarter.

After a rebound and layup by the bulldogs, their coach calls a timeout as they get within 4 with under 3 minutes to play in the third.

St Robert Williams went on a 4-0 run after the timeout. At the end of the third quarter, the Warriors continued to lead, 31-24.

With under 3 to play, GESU looked like they were coming back as they made a few stops and kept it within 5.

With a minute left to play in regulation, GESU took the lead, 39-37. They would go on to make a few defensive stops to close out the game. The final score was GESU: 39, St. Robert Williams: 37. Tristan Williams finished with 24 points and 3 rebounds for the Bulldogs. Elizabeth Dunmire finished with 23 points and 4 rebounds for the Warriors. 

Notre Dame Starts Strong, Finishes off St. Gabriel

St. Gabriel’s fourth quarter comeback creates spark, but Notre Dame Elementary School looks like the Fightin Irish in South Bend as they top St. Gabriel.

The game started with Celia Duffy getting on the board in the first minute for Notre Dame on a beautiful layup when she got open in the paint.

Notre Dame did not stop with the offense as they responded with three more field goals, and two of them came from Maddie Varga.

St. Gabriel was eager to get on the board, and Maya Rowan had to go to the line to get them on the board.

At the end of the quarter, Notre Dame ended with the lead with a score of 8-1.

Disappointed in their first half actions, St. Gabriel wanted to shorten their lead. With the help of Gianna Gromack’s back-to-back field goals, they shortened the opponents lead to three.

At the half, Notre Dame went on a little run and they led St. Gabriel by a score of 13-5. Celia Duffy had 7 points at the half and Maddie Varga had the other 6 points for Notre Dame. Maya Rowan had four boards for St. Gabriel.

The third quarter was a defensive one, where only 2 points were scored in the eight minutes played. At the end of the quarter, the score was 15-5

To start the fourth quarter, St. Gabriel came out firing six unanswered points. Ava Starr led the comeback with four points and an assist in the run. That run caused a spark in St. Gabes as with two minutes left, the score was 18-16.

Notre Dame did not stop fighting. They finished strong and took home the win with a final score of 25-16 winning over St. Gabriel.

Ava Starr led St. Gabes with 6 points and a pair of boards and assists. Celia Duffy finished with 14 points, a pair of assists, and a handful of boards. 

Both of these teams finished their classic strong and Maddie Varga received an all tournament team award to end the game.

St. Paschal's Finishes Strong, Beats St. Francis

The St. Paschal Knights ended their tournament run on a high note with a dominating victory over St. Francis Cougars, 37-22.

Leading the charge for the Knights on offense was Alex Mack, as he finished with 16 points. Helping Mack on offense was the leaders in assists, Kene Obi and Mario Gaspar with 2 assists.

For the Cougars, Sebastian Cook was the leading scorer with 10 points.

St. Paschal took a commanding lead early, with the Knights beginning the contest with a 12-1 run against St. Francis. Their early lead helped them control the tempo for the rest of the game, as they took the momentum and never looked back.

This momentum carried into the second quarter as they would end the half with a 24-7 lead.

But St. Francis did not lose hope. They continued to battle back with offensive help from Cook.

Unfortunately, their efforts came up short, and they would not be able to finish the comeback they formed in the second half.

Sts. Robert and William Bring the Heat; Trounce Communion of Saints

Two of the most electric teams we saw yesterday faced off in a Sunday classic at U.S.

The first quarter was all about the 3-Ball. Both teams finding open looks from behind the arc. Lorenzo Oriani hit back to back threes for Sts. Robert and William heading into the half. Communion of Saints look to make offensive adjustments down 20-8 after two quarters of play

Quinn Kennedy opened up the half with heat notching 3 boards in the first few minutes of the second half. Communion of Saints Bryce Whitted tried to capitalize on the open looks but proved not enough to shrink the lead.

Sts. Robert and William’s Frank Smith and Lorenzo Oriani hitting multiple three-pointers back to back to back to extend the lead to 23 for the Warriors.

Between quarters The Gesu Morrissey Classic Board recognized Communion of Saints’ Quinn Kennedy to the “All Tournament Team” for his performance over the weekend.

Sts. Robert and William controlled the fourth quarter and rolled to the buzzer with a 51-16 win over Communion of Saints.

-Owen Gerba

Knights Lance the Knights; St. Mary's Wins

Kicking off the Sunday in the girls bracket The Knights of both Mater Dei and St. Mary’s of Mentor brought energy to court 2.

St. Mary focused on pushing the ball in the first quarter with Fallon Campolieti and Mary Thacker leading the way for The Knights. Mater Devi’s Aubrey Terranova drove to the basket at the end of the first to shrink the St Mary lead to down to three.

The second quarter started off just as exciting with defense as queen. Back and forth empty possessions were ended with a Julia Bloom and one opportunity for St. Mary. Mater Dei was unable to find an answer to the explosive offense from St. Mary as they pulled away with an 18-9 lead at the half. Mary Thacker leading the charge for St. Mary had 8 points and Aubrey Terranova lead the way for Mater Dei with 5 points 2 rebounds.

Both teams halftime adjustments made quarter three closer than the score showed. Both teams passing was extraordinary and opened up the floor for open looks all over the court. At the end of three quarters St. Mary still held of 9 with the score 24-15.

St. Mary held control throughout the fourth. With a minute left Mater Dei’s Kiera Shultz hit a quick three to bring the Knights within five. The last minute push proved not enough for the win with a 26-21 final score The Knights of St. Mary of Mentor the victors.

Rowan Sinks Game Winner For St. Gabe's

In a matchup of 0-1 teams in the Morrissey Classic, Ava Star got the scoring rolling as she made the first bucket of the game for St. Gabriel. After the first quarter, Star led the way with four points for St.Gabriel as they led 4-2. 

After both teams’ defense locked down the opposing offenses to start the second quarter, Maya Rowan knocked down two free throws for St. Gabriel. Then, Aubrey Terranova for Mater Dei went off for seven points in the frame, leading the way for Mater Dei as they mounted a comeback and took an 11-10 lead into the half. 

The third quarter got off to a fast start as Terranova added three more points off free-throws, and Amanda Peklay registered two points in the quarter for Mater Dei. Mater Dei led 16-13 after the third.

In the fourth quarter, St. Gabriel’s Rowan made a nice layup to cut into the Mater Dei lead, making the score 18-17. Then a few possessions later, Rowan made another bucket to give St. Gabriel the lead 19-18 with 1:31 left in the game. Terranova knocked down a free throw to tie things back up at 19 a piece with 41.1 seconds left. A game winning free throw by Rowan for St. Gabriel gave them the lead 20-19.

Terranova led all scorers with 13 points, while Star scored a team high six points for St. Gabriel.

St. Raphael Goes on a Run; Has Eyes on Morrissey Classic Championship

Intense. Fast. Thrilling. These are just three words to describe the game between St. Raphael and Sts. Robert -William where St. Raphael took home the win with a final score of 27 to 11

The game started when Sts. Robert-William got on the board from a field goal by Sophia Stachnik.

St. Raphael responded with a bucket of their own when Paris Darling found the back of the net.

After a deep three by Klarka Stegar, St. Raphael went into the quarter up three with a score of 5-2.

Gemma Wichmann made back-to-back field goals to take the lead in the first half of the second quarter to retake the lead for St. Raphael.

After more free throws and field goals, the score at the half was 13-6 with St. Raphael leading.

St. Raphael found a spark and proceeded to go on 7-0 run to make their lead at the third quarter 21-6.

After some intense back and forth basketball, the lead stayed for St. Raphael with a score of 22-11 at the end of the third quarter.

As the buzzer hit, the last quarter was close and the final score of the game was St. Raphael, 27 and St. Robert-William 11. Gemma Wichmann led St. Raphael with 13 and Klarka Stergar led St. Robert-William with 3.

Notre Dame in Control of St. Mary's, Wins 38-29

Both St. Mary’s and Notre Dame got off to slow starts, as the score after the first quarter was just 7 - 4, respectively. The nerves began to kick in for St. Mary’s, and Notre Dame was able to capitalize off of this by gaining most possessions. With shots beginning to fall for Notre Dame, the team took a 20 - 11 lead heading into halftime.

St. Mary’s was off to a quick second half start. With a 10 - 4 run for the St. Mary’s Knights, the game became close in score. Notre Dame led 28 - 24 beginning the fourth quarter. They ultimately controlled the end of the game as they pulled away to grab a 38 - 29 victory over the Knights.

Eagles Nip The Bulldogs, Head on to Morrissey Classic Girls' Finals

In the final game of the first full slate of games for the Morrissey Invitation Tournament, Gesu Lady Bulldogs faced off against Holy Trinity Lady Eagles.

In the first quarter, both teams had swarming defenses causing turnovers back and forth. The Eagles took a 8-6 lead after eight minutes. The Eagles number 11 Erin Dean led the way with 4 points and was a force inside.

The second quarter Lady Bulldogs had great ball movement, getting good looks but just not being able to cash in on those opportunities to start the quarter. The Lady Bulldogs went on a 7-0 run in the middle of the second quarter to get them back into the game, which was led by Brook Leedy. The Eagles led 24-14 at the half.

The Eagles number 11 Erin Dean was on the attack to start the second half with 6 points in the third, totaling 17 points for her, and Lady Bulldogs number 2 Tristan Williams led the way for the Lady Bulldogs in the third with 5 points (finishing with 10 for the game). The Eagles just edged the Bulldogs in scoring 10-9 and 34-23 at the end of three.

The Eagles finished the game strong, only allowing 5 fourth quarter points to the Lady Bulldogs with a great all around team win on their way to a 42-28 win.

St. Gabriel Fends of St. Raphael; Looks Ahead to Holy Trinity in the Morrissey Classic Championship

Trading the lead back and forth the entire game, St. Gabriel defeated St. Raphael by a final score of 30-23 in an evenly matched battle during the 5:00 p.m. game in the Morrissey Classic. 

In a low scoring first quarter, St. Raphael led 8-4, with Luke Simms paving the way with 5 points, followed by Ethan George with 3 points. Marty Loncar totaled all 4 points for St. Gabriel.  

St. Gabriel took the lead early in the second quarter going up 11-8 after an and-one play by Nathan Zeapitelli. 

The score at halftime was 15-11 as St. Gabriel relied on Robert Bonchak’s 6 points in the second quarter to help further their lead over St. Raphael. 

Outshooting St. Gabriel in the third quarter, St. Raphael retook the lead through Luke Simms as they went up 17-15 at the 3-minute mark of the quarter. By the end of the 8-minute period, St. Gabriel trailed by four points. 

Robert Bonchak tied the game up within the first minute of the fourth quarter, getting an and-one play, but missing the foul shot, to add two points for St. Gabriel. 

Brody Borhr put six points on the board with two long range shots from downtown, making the score 25-20 in favor of St. Gabriel with just under four minutes left in regulation. 

The teams traded the ball back and forth the rest of the game as the clock wound down and St. Gabriel was named the victor of a hard fought battle.

Holy Trinity Handles Gesu, Advances to Morrissey Classic Championship

​With both teams winning their first game in the 2021 Morrissey Classic, Holy Trinity and Gesu faced off on Saturday night in their second contest of the tournament. The game was close all the way through the first quarter and into the second quarter, courtesy of both teams sharp shooting from behind the arc. In the second quarter, Holy Trinity began to press. Eventually, Holy Trinity went on a scoring run with seven minutes left in the first half. From that point on, Gesu would not score again in the half with Holy Trinity leading 27-11 at halftime.

Going into the second half, Holy Trinity continued scoring baskets on both of their first possessions. Gesu made up for the the missed baskets in the first half by cutting the lead to 15 points going into the 4th quarter. Holy Trinity held Gesu to only three points in the 4th quarter, while scoring 10 points as a team. The final score was 47-25, with Holy Trinity coming out victorious. In post game interviews with each team, they were asked about how it feels playing in the Morrissey Classic. Alex Rodriguez for Holy Trinity said, “Their team is able to have the chance to compete against other teams that are highly talented and get ready for the season ahead.” Jayden Soeder for Gesu said, “The team is able to get in sync with each other and have some experience playing as a team before the season starts.” Going into Sunday, Holy Trinity is 2-0, while Gesu moves to 1-1.