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Walsh Jesuit's Nick Foschia led the way for the Warriors as they avenged a December loss to Notre Dame Cathedral Latin with a 53-38 victory Friday night.
CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio – Walsh Jesuit senior forward Nick Foschia downplayed his third-quarter scoring outburst that led the Warriors to a 53-38 victory over Notre Dame Cathedral Latin in a North Coast League game Friday night.
Foschia scored seven straight points for the Warriors in the final two minutes of the third period to break a 21-all tie and give Walsh Jesuit a lead it would not give up.
“As we were breaking their press and getting into transition, I was the open man in the corner,” said Foschia, a 6-foot-4 senior. “My job was to get to the basket and finish with strength.”
And finish with strength Foscia did. In those final two minutes of the third, Foscia scored three baskets, one of which ended up being an old-fashioned three-point play.
“Nick got into the spots where he needed to be and then he took over and made plays,” said Walsh Jesuit coach John Norris. “Those spots are where Nick can score based on his abilities. The other four guys did their job in getting him the basketball. From there, Nick took over and was aggressive.”
Foschia’s scoring line showed off his aggressive play: 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field, 5-of-7 free throws, six rebounds and an assist.
“Nick was not tentative or passive in that stretch. He understood that when he was in a position to score, he scored,” said Norris.
Foschia kept up his aggressive play in the fourth quarter, chipping in with six points. Fellow senior Trent Donald had seven points in the final period as the Warriors wrapped up win No. 10.
The victory gave the Warriors some revenge over NDCL. Back on Dec. 23, the Lions handed Walsh Jesuit its worst defeat of the season, a 62-43 loss. That game was still fresh in the minds of the seven seniors who were honored on “Senior Night.”
“It was a tough defeat, but we knew we would play them again late in the season, prepare for them and get revenge” said Foschia.
The road gets no easier for Walsh Jesuit. The Warriors’ final six games are against Firestone, Lake Catholic, St. Vincent-St. Mary, Benedictine, Twinsburg and Archbishop Hoban.
Foschia is not worried.
“We’ll prepare for them one game at a time.”
NDCL (7-7) 3 – 11 – 11 – 13 = 38
Walsh Jesuit (10-4) 11 – 3 – 16 – 23 = 53
INDIVIDUAL SCORING:
NDCL: Mark Worthington 2 7-8 12, JR Randolph 3 2-4 9, John Cirillo 3 1-1 7, Dan Sapp 2 3-4 7, Chris Shkil 1 0-0 2, Paul Carswell 0 1-2 1. Totals: 11 14-20 38
WALSH: Nick Foschia 8 5-7 21, Spencer Boyd 2 4-7 9, David Croft 3 1-4 8, Trent Donald 2 3-4 7, Mark Mittiga 2 0-0 4, Antoine Smith 1 0-0 2, KC Meyer 1 0-0 2. Totals: 19 13-22 53.
3-POINTERS: NDCL 2 (Worthington, Randolph); WALSH 2 (Boyd, Croft)
In other boys basketball games:
ST. VINCENT-ST. MARY 82, YOUNGSTOWN URSULINE 43. At Akron, seniors D.J. Blanks and Lorenzo Cugini had 19 and 16 points, respectively, in helping the Irish (10-6) slam dunk Ursuline (43).
St. V-M led 40-22 at half and 60-28 after three quarters.
Junior forward Nick Wells contrubuted 14 points. Cugini had a double-double with 10 rebounds.
ARCHBISHOP HOBAN 54, PARMA PADUA 36. At Akron, the Knights (9-4, 3-3) overcame a miserable first half and pounded the Bruins by a 40-13 margin in the second half.
Senior Sean Robbins and junior Saadiq Muhammad each had 11 points for Hoban. Senior LaTroy Lewis put up 10 points and nine rebounds.
CUYAHOGA VALLEY CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 80, INDIAN VALLEY 55. At Cuyahoga Falls, the Royals (9-6, 6-4) outscored Indian Valley 45-28 in the second half.
Junior Bob Peters led the way with 19 points. Sophomore Mike Peters dropped in 16 points for CVCA, while junior Caleb Kleibscheidel added 12. Antonio Carroscia, another junior, scored 11.
MANCHESTER 70, TRIWAY 54. At Wooster, senior Seth Chappell scored 14 points to lead the Panthers (5-9, 3-6) to the victory.
Junior Bryan Daily chipped in 11, while junior Jamar Dukes put up 10 points.
Triway (4-9, 4-6) was led by Eddy Grenert’s 19 points.
MOGADORE 68, SOUTHEAST 52. At Mogadore, the Wildcats opened with a 20-12 first-quarter lead and pressed forward for the victory in the Portage Trail Conference County Division matchup.
Senior Michael Duma and junior Hunter VanCamp each scored 14 points to pace Mogadore (11-4, 7-4). Also in double figures for the Wildcats were senior Alex Roebken (11 points) and junior Kasey Beard (10 points).
Southeast senior Noah Kainrad led all scorers with 22 points. Joe Kinker added 13 for the Pirates (11-5, 8-3).
After leading 30-25 at halftime, Mogadore went on a 23-6 run to build a big enough lead to earn the victory.
STREETSBORO 79, COVENTRY 53. At Coventry Township, the red-hot Rockets (10-5, 9-2) took a punch in the first quarter and then blitzed the Comets (3-12, 2-9) the rest of the way.
Sawyer White and Brandon Gency each had 20 points for Streetsboro, which trailed 22-18 after one quarter.
Tylor Radcliff popped in 14 points for Coventry.
KENT ROOSEVELT 75, RAVENNA 62. At Kent, the Rough Riders (11-3, 10-1) still are a solo act in first place in the PTC Metro Division.
Behind 19 points from senior guard Zach Brett and 18 from senior forward Bruce Thomas, Roosevelt led 21-10 after one quarter and controlled the game to the end.
Senior guard Shakeel Howard sparked the Riders with four 3-point baskets on his way to 14 points.
Tate Bennett scored 13 points for the Ravens (8-8, 4-7).
NORTON 83, FIELD 31. At Brimfield Township, the Panthers took a 21-3 lead in the first quarter and steamrolled to victory.
Junior Tyler Sherman scored 25 points to lead Norton (12-4. 9-2). Aaron VanBuskirk chipped in 14 points, and Matt McGlone added 11 for the Panthers, who held Field to just six points in the first half.
The Falcons were led by senior Kody Lowden who scored 10 points. Lowden also grabbed six rebounds. Senior Pat Boggs also had six rebounds for Field (3-10, 2-9).