Lake Catholic Can't Keep Pace in Loss to St. Edward

For the boys' basketball team, there might come a time down the road – perhaps as soon as the postseason, which begins next month – where the lessons learned from engaging in a fast-paced game with a Division I powerhouse like St. Edward will pay dividends.

But to enjoy any future gains, the Cougars had to endure the pain of relentless clinic put on by the Eagles on Saturday night.

Led by the dynamic backcourt combo of Myles Hamilton and Elijah Brown, St. Edward overwhelmed Lake Catholic, 93-63.

The game, a makeup date following a Dec. 4 postponement, was the second night of a back-to-back for both teams. Lake Catholic was coming off a loss in North Coast League play against Villa Angela-St. Joseph on Friday night, while St. Edward had toppled rival St. Ignatius.

Lake coach Mark Chicone knew exactly what his team was in for going up against the athletic Eagles, but he wasn’t about to put his team into a protective shell.

“We don’t schedule a game like that because it’s an easy win,” Chicone said. “It’s just the way (St. Edward is) playing this year – that constant pressure. We try to play that way too, but they have a few more horses than we do.

“Our top to bottom, I can’t complain. We wanted to play a fast pace. I didn’t care if they scored a hundred and some, we were going to press them the whole game. We were going to play fast. And that’s exactly what we did.”

It was just that the Eagles did it better.

St. Edward (12-4) seized control with an 11-0 run late in the first quarter and maintained a comfortable lead the rest of the night. The Eagles’ relentless defensive pressure forced the Cougars into 28 turnovers.

St. Edward coach Eric Flannery, who has preferred a more half-court-minded approach in past seasons, said he has warmed to the idea of having an up-tempo team. Working with a pair of ultra-athletic guards like Hamilton and Brown certainly doesn’t hurt.

The duo led the way offensively as Hamilton finished with a game-high 27 points and seven rebounds. Brown, the son of former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown, scored 20 with four 3-pointers.

“That’s what’s been kinda fun coaching this team this year,” Flannery said. “It’s been a little different from teams I’ve had in the past. We don’t have to worry about pounding the ball inside. We’re more worried about spreading people out and utilizing five guys. It’s been fun that way, and it’s allowed Elijah and Miles to step up even more. The kids enjoy it.”

With his team playing for the second straight night, Flannery went deep into his bench, and that allowed the Cougars to make a brief comeback late in the first half. Lake (9-5) closed the second quarter on a 13-2 run to draw within 10 at halftime. Junior Joey Vuyancih, who scored a team-high 18, had the final five points in the outburst.

Mike Whalen knocked down a 3 for Lake to start the third, drawing the Cougars to within 46-39, but St. Ed’s quickly responded with eight straight points, leaving Lake in the rearview mirror. The Cougars didn’t slow down, but they couldn’t keep up with the fifth-gear Eagles.

“We wanted to play that way too,” Chicone said. “If we didn’t, we would’ve tried to slow the game down. You want to get that kind of a look against teams like that so you learn from it.”

And hope that those lessons pay off somewhere down the line.