Fallsnewspress.com - CVCA boys basketball squad wins playoff opener

by Steve Batko

Correspondent

It almost got to the point this season that some observers were looking ahead to next year with the CVCA boys basketball team.

Someone forgot to tell the inexperienced, up-and-down Royals that their season is over.

CVCA opened its post season with an impressive 53-49 win in the first round of the Painesville Harvey Division III district tournament over Cleveland Lutheran West (9-11).

The Royals, 10-11 overall, reached the sectional final March 5 against fourth-seeded Kirtland, but results of the game were not available as of press time.

Kirtland, 12-8, is the fourth seed as Villa Angela St. Joseph (14-6) is the top seed, followed by Gates Mills Hawken (17-3), Cleveland Central Catholic (10-10), and Kirtland (12-8). CVCA was the sixth seed while Lutheran West was seventh.

Top seed VASJ is lurking as the likely foe in the March 9 district semifinal if CVCA was victorious over Kirtland. That game is set for 6:15 at Harvey. District finals are set for March 12 at 7:30 p.m.

For Jay Peters' squad, it was rebounding, defense, and an edge in free throws (15-3) that allowed the Royals to beat Lutheran West.

A big second quarter by CVCA that led to the win. The Royals held the Horns to just five points to grab a 28-20 lead at the half.

CVCA outrebounded Lutheran West 35-23 and hit its free throws when needed as the Longhorns had some fouls pile up. The locals only committed 10 turnovers in the win and despite the margin, seemed in control throughout.

Douglas, the team's only experienced player from last year's regional semifinal squad, will be hoping to land a third regional showing in his career.

Douglas exploded for 22 points and 12 rebounds in the first round win as the rugged 6-3, 210-pound forward converted 10 free throws.

"X [Douglas] had a huge game for us in the paint, and seniors led us," said Peters. "We just kept getting the ball inside to X and he delivered."

Rangy 6-foot-1 senior guard Greg Kutchin also shined for Peters' crew. Kutchin poured in 15 points, including two key 3-pointers.

Other seniors who extended their season and careers are forward Chad Lyon, forward Jon Tedeschi and guard Alex Mosteller, who added two points.

"Kutchin and X really stepped up and played big for us," said Peters.

Juniors Drew Peterson and T.J. Heginbotham also contributed with defense and help on the boards. Each scored seven points.

"I thought T.J. (Heginbotham) stepped up and did some really nice things on both ends," said Peters. "These kids understand now what to expect. The seniors are great and the younger players are learning."

The Royals did a great job of shutting down 6-3 guard Cal Thomay (two buckets and seven points) and 20-point scorer James Ranc (13 points, six rebounds). A third guard, Marcus Spelich, fired in 15 points and grabbed six boards for the Horns.

With the presence of Douglas in the paint, the Longhorns two centers piled up seven fouls in all.

West used its guards to spread the floor, but CVCA did a great job on both ends.

"We did a great job recovering on defense and closing gaps," said Peters. "On offense, Xavier is so crafty with his shots, and we kept giving him looks inside."

"Come tournament time, it comes down to which team can take care of the basketball and defend," said Peters.

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