Father Sullivan Gym – Being in familiar territory is no doubt an advantage the Wildcats will love to have this season with some of the biggest games of the season being played at Sullivan Gym. Coming off a dominating 79-33 victory over John Hay, the Wildcats faced a much more talented Lutheran East basketball team Saturday night. The Falcons put up a fight for three quarters of basketball until the Wildcat’s went on an 11-3 run to open up the 4th quarter and pulled away to a 51-40 victory to seal off a successful home opener.
Lutheran East made the jump to Div. III this season after winning the Div. IV state championship last season. Lutheran East comes into this season with only one returning starter, Jordan Burge, who averaged just over 18 points per game last season in the Falcon’s state championship campaign. Burge, an Ashland University commit, led the Falcons in scoring with 14 points against the Wildcats on Saturday night.
The Wildcats again playing without large on floor presence of Jon Barnes and Joshua Ozanne. Sophomore Chase Toppin also took a seat on the bench vs. the Falcons as a precautionary measure for his injury. Three absent key players, and a solid defensive Lutheran East team made for an interesting four quarters of basketball.
Neeko Melendez, coming off a 15 point game in season opener victory over John Hay, started off hot against firing off a quick five points in the first three minutes. Melendez took a beating in first half while trying to get the offense going for the Cats. Neeko slowed down to 1-3 shooting from deep in the first half. He would knock one more down in the second half and finish the game with 14, a team high for the second game in a row. Neeko has had a lot asked of him in these first two games and he has handled it exceptionally well.
Dom Dinunzio picked up right where he left off vs. John Hay dominating the defensive glass. Dom snagged five rebounds in the first half and had 11 total by the end of the game.
Aymin Bahhur also found success underneath the basket putting up 12 points all which were scored from below the basket. Bahhur showed impressive patience underneath the rim while getting his shots up, drawing fouls, and most importantly finishing the basketball. Bahhur got to the freethrow line a team high six times by battleing below the basket.
The Wildcats stuck to a 2-3 zone defense in the first half that put an emphasis on the perimeter. Falcons were not afraid to take their shots. The Falcons finished the game with 29 three point attempts, only seven were made.
The Wildcats found themselves with only a one point lead at halftime. Major reason: turnovers. Lutheran East forced 10 Wildcat turnovers in the first half alone. Wildcats were able to slightly lower that statistic but will most definitely be a key topic at practice on Monday.
Luke Wiskes made his first start of his senior season and put up another solid set of minutes just as he did coming off the bench in the season opener. Wiskes finished the game with 10 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Junior Lukas Bielek also put in solid minutes just as he did vs. John Hay finishing with eight points.
Wildcats jumped out to a slight lead following halftime but the Falcons kept pace and remained in the game until the beginning of the fourth quarter where the Wildcats went on an 11-3 run early in the fourth quarter and outscored Lutheran East 17-6 in the fourth quarter to pull away with an 11 point win.
Wildcats will be back at Sullivan Gym to take on div. IV powerhouse Cornerstone Christian on Tuesday. Tip-off is set for 7:00pm.
