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Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph (Cleveland, OH)

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PlainDealer

2/24/06

Preview of sectional......

Lakeland

Where: Lakeland Community College, 7700 Clocktower Drive, Kirtland. Call 440-525-7238.

Seeded teams: 1. Villa Angela-St. Joseph; 2. Berkshire; 3. Leavittsburg LaBrae; 4. Hawken School.

Other teams: Beachwood, Cardinal, Garrettsville Garfield, Gilmour Academy, Grand Valley, Kirtland, Newton Falls, Pymatuning Valley, Warren Champion, Wickliffe.

When: Semifinals, Monday, March 6, and Tuesday, March 7, 7:30 p.m.; final, Friday, March 10, 7:30 p.m.

Outlook: VASJ, considered a state championship contender, is the heavy favorite. The Vikings feature 6-5 guard David Lighty, an Ohio State recruit who is averaging better than 20 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals. Forward Darryl Rushton is averaging nearly 13 points and eight rebounds. Berkshire features guard Jason Ronyak, who is averaging about 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Forward Brian Hiscox and guard Craig Voorhees also provide scoring punch. LaBrae has been tested by a challenging schedule. Hawken, led by guard Tyler Kirsch, has fashioned a steady season with its fine defensive play.
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ABJ

2/27/06

Boys basketball/Hoban 66, VASJ 54

Early surge carries Knights to win

By Todd Worly

Special to the Beacon Journal

Hoban dominated visiting Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph to built a large first-half lead and withstood several furious second-half rallies by VASJ to prevail 66-54 in front of a capacity crowd on Senior Night.

Senior forward Roland Battle II and senior center John Wolosinczuk were spectacular in carrying the Knights on both ends during the game.

Battle, who had a career-high 27 points and eight rebounds, was all over the floor. He penetrated to the basket at will, grabbing crucial rebounds and righting Hoban's ship whenever VASJ made a run. Wolosinczuk simply owned the paint, amassing eight points, 14 rebounds, and 10 blocks.

The Knights (18-2) led 8-7 in the first quarter before breaking the game wide open with a 21-8 run to end the first half ahead 29-15.

Hoban easily dissected the VASJ defense with impressive ball movement that consistently led to layups and wide-open 3-pointers.

On the other end, the Knights utterly frustrated the Vikings with a 3-2 zone, forcing eight turnovers and refusing to give up any easy looks.

``We had really good teamwork,'' Battle said. ``Our game plan was to slow it down, control the tempo, move the ball, and take open shots when they were there.''

``We've worked on that defense all year,'' Wolosinczuk said. ``With Roland's quickness on the bottom, if they actually get by him, then I'm waiting right there.''

The Vikings, ranked 8th in the state in Division III, wouldn't go quietly. They turned the heat up on defense in the second half. Led by Ohio State signee David Lighty, VASJ began to utilize its athleticism and pressured Hoban all over the court, forcing 12 second-half turnovers.

Lighty was phenomenal in the second half, showing his incredible quickness with three consecutive steals that he converted into two monster dunks and a layup to pull the Vikings (15-5) within 32-25.

Battle and the Knights answered, building the lead back to 15. Lighty and Wolosinczuk combined to provide the most entertaining part of the game.

Lighty stole the ball and quickly hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 42-37.

Wolosinczuk then converted senior guard David Francesconi's nifty pass into a powerful dunk to momentarily quell VASJ's momentum.

Lighty, however, responded with another 3-pointer to pull the Vikings to within 4. Led by Battle, Hoban extended the lead to 10 points early in the 4th quarter. The Vikings made one more run, capped by Lighty's rebound and explosive coast-to-coast drive for the hoop and foul, bringing the score to 56-52 with 1:34 left.

But the Vikings went cold, as three consecutive possessions resulted in missed 3-point attempts.

Battle put the game away for the Knights, scoring eight points in the final 1:30, including a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line.

``I was keeping my head in the game,'' Battle said. ``Iwas just trying to do anything to make the team better and help us win. I knew that if we kept playing our game, we'd eventually win. This will give us a lot of momentum for the tournament.''

``Coming into this game, we knew how high they were ranked, and that really motivated us to win,'' Wolosinczuk said. ``The group of people that we have in our program right now has been together for four years, and that really helped us come together and play as a team.

``It's pretty special to do this at home on Senior Night.''

Lighty scored 21 points and had five rebounds, while senior forward Darryl Rushton added 13 points and seven rebounds.

Senior guard Chris Stasik scored 12 points for the Knights, and Francesconi added 11.
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CPD

3/7/06

BOYS BASKETBALL


Lighty's 20 pace VASJ

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

From staff reports
Guard David Lighty and forward Darryl Rushton combined to score 37 points and lead Villa Angela-St. Joseph to a 54-37 victory over Hawken School in a district semifinal boys basketball game on Monday night.

Lighty, a 6-5 Ohio State recruit, scored 20 points, and the 6-5 Rushton totaled 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists. They, along with 6-4 Maurice Haynes, helped the first-seeded Vikings (17-6) outscore the Hawks, 18-11, in the third quarter and build a 45-31 lead in the Division III game at Lakeland Community College.

Guard Tyler Kirsch scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Hawken (15-8). VASJ shot 51 percent from the field, while its aggressive defense held the Hawks to 25 percent shooting. The Vikings outrebounded Hawken, 35-34, and committed 12 turnovers to Hawken's 14.

VASJ, a state championship contender, will play for the district title on Friday night against the winner of tonight's game between second-seeded Berkshire and Leavittsburg LaBrae.
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NewsHerald

3/7/06

Vikings take out Hawks

Top-seeded Villa Angela-St. Joseph didn't have it easy in its Division III district semifinal at Lakeland.

A gutsy Hawken team made sure of that.

Nonetheless, the Vikings' defense of their district crown will occur Friday night in large part because of their defense Monday.

The combo of seniors David Lighty and Darryl Rushton didn't hurt, either.

VASJ held Hawken to 26 percent (14 of 53) shooting from the field and forced 16 turnovers in a grind-it-out 54-37 win.

The Vikings, who advanced to a regional final in Canton last March, will defend their Lakeland District title Friday against the winner of tonight's LaBrae-Berkshire matchup.

"That team is no slouch, and I am really proud of the way our guys battled and executed," VASJ coach Dave Wojciechowski said. "If we play defense like that and recognize where we need to be, we'll be fine.

"I have to tip my hat to Coach (Shawn) McGregor and his kids, because they played extremely hard and were extremely well-prepared to play. They deserve a lot of credit for their effort."

While the defense from both teams was solid all evening, Lighty and Rushton deserved a lot of credit on the offensive side of the floor for VASJ.

The athletic duo equaled the Hawks' offensive output, teaming up to score 37 points. Lighty added five rebounds, five assists and four steals, and Rushton also contributed eight boards.

Both Lighty and Rushton were fighting illness Monday night, but they were key in helping the Vikings (17-5) shake off a sluggish start and jump out to a 27-20 halftime lead. Lighty had nine of his game-high 20 points in the first quarter - highlighted by a thunderous one-handed dunk on the baseline - and Rushton helped carry the team while the Ohio State signee was on the bench in foul trouble, scoring 12 of his 17 in the opening half.

"We knew Hawken was going to give us their best shot because they didn't want to go home just like we don't want to go home," Lighty said. "I usually start off slow, so it was good to get going quick and not have to worry about playing from behind."

After trailing, 4-0, in the first two minutes of the game, VASJ played from ahead the remainder of the night. The seven-point halftime lead quickly grew to double digits in the third quarter and ballooned out to 45-31 heading into the final eight minutes of play.

Hawken (15-8) never got closer than 12 after that, but despite the night-long shooting woes - including a frigid 1-for-15 performance from 3-point land - and scoring just six points in the fourth quarter, the Hawks continued to hustle and dive on the floor.

Senior Tyler Kirsch was impressive for Hawken, scoring 18 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. As a team, the Hawks outrebounded the much bigger, more athletic Vikings, 34-26.

"I am very proud of my kids. They played their guts out tonight and I cannot ask anything more of a group," McGregor said. "Our tallest kid is 6-foot-4 and VASJ is a great team with a shot at making the state tournament. To shoot 26 percent and still compete as long as we did is something to be proud of."

Wojciechowski, who got a solid effort in the paint from junior Maurice Haynes (eight points), said he was proud of his kids as well, particularly from the standpoint of their physical play and remaining poised despite missing 10 shots inside of 5 feet.

Rushton, who was praised by his coach for his performance the last several weeks, said using their size and strength is something the Vikings must do on a nightly basis.

The 6-foot-5 forward also said getting to Friday night's district title game gives Lighty, who tore his ACL in last year's district final, one more shot at playing in the regionals.

"We all want to get back to the district final as a team, but I really wanted Dave to get one more chance at making the regionals if we win Friday," Rushton said. "He didn't get the chance last year, and he's gotten us to this point, so we want to help him get to Canton. We owe this one to him."
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CPD

3/11/06

BOYS BASKETBALL ROUNDUP

<H1 class=red>Lighty, VASJ hold off Berkshire

</H1>

Saturday, March 11, 2006



From staff reports

Villa Angela-St. Joseph's boys basketball team withstood Berkshire's strong fourth-quarter rally, hanging on to claim the Division III Lakeland district championship with a 63-58 victory Friday.

The top-seeded Vikings (18-5) prevailed despite being outscored, 29-18, during the fourth quarter. Craig Voorhees played a large part in the No. 2-seed Badgers' comeback bid, scoring 14 of his 21 points in the final period.

VASJ was led by senior guard David Lighty, who had 30 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Maurice Haynes added 18 points. The Vikings move on to a regional semifinal Wednesday at the Canton Fieldhouse. They will play Youngstown Ursuline (15-8).

Berkshire ends the season at 19-4.
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Link

3/11/06

Lighty comes up big in win over Berkshire, will be raring to go in regionals

Villa Angela-St. Joseph is returning to the regional tournament.

Only this time, the teenager that helped lead the Vikings to the Sweet 16 is heading there carrying plenty of motivation and looking forward to taking the floor at the Canton Fieldhouse instead of watching from the bench.

With a rabid Berkshire cheering section chanting, "Overrated," and Friday night being his last chance to actually advance and play in a regional game, VASJ standout David Lighty scored 30 points to lead the Vikings to a 63-58 win in a Division III district final at Lakeland.

VASJ will play Youngstown Ursuline at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse.

Lighty, the tournament MVP, also pulled down eight rebounds, dished out five assists and had four steals as the Vikings (18-5) built a 20-point second-half lead and withstood a gutsy effort down the stretch by the Badgers to defend its district title.

In last year's district final win over Chanel, the Ohio State signee tore the ACL in his right knee and missed VASJ's regional appearance. The Vikings were eliminated at Lakeland in Lighty's freshman and sophomore seasons, so getting the chance to finally play in the regional was a big motivating factor for the senior and the entire team.

"I really can't put into words what this means for us to get Dave a chance to go down to Canton and play in the regionals," VASJ coach Dave Wojciechowski said. "It was a rallying cry for us all week to get Dave to a regional, especially after his injury last year. He is our leader, and he is not only one of the best basketball players you'll see, he is one of the best kids I have ever been around. He really deserves this."

After making just one free throw in the first eight minutes of play, Lighty scored 10 consecutive points for the Vikings in the second quarter, and pumped in 10 more in the third to help VASJ shoot out to a 45-29 lead heading into the final frame.

Senior guards Craig Voorhees (21 points) and Jason Ronyak (15 points) - both all-tournament selections - started heating up in the fourth quarter to keep Berkshire hanging around, but Lighty had a monstrous one-handed dunk down the lane and hit 4 of 6 free throws in the closing minutes to help his team hold off the Badgers.

"This feels great, and all I know is I am heading to Canton," Lighty said, with a piece of the net in his headband and a huge smile on his face. "I am happy that we won, of course. A lot of people were nervous, but I was pretty confident.

"The knee feels fine and I am very excited to be going to the regionals."

VASJ's defensive effort held the high-powered Berkshire offense to 15 points in the first half and just 29 through three quarters. The Badgers (19-4) trailed by 15 after Lighty's dunk midway through the fourth quarter, but outscored the Vikings, 15-5, to close the game and make things tense for VASJ.

Berkshire coach Pat Moran, who has led his team to 37 wins in two seasons just two years after a 3-18 campaign, said a first half in which the Badgers shot 5 of 22 from the field was too much to overcome.

And of course Lighty was a bit much as well.

"VASJ is like a stick of dynamite, and Lighty is the match," Moran said.

"When he goes off, they are explosive.

"We didn't turn the ball over and we got off enough shots, but we just didn't make any in that first half and you can't get away with that against a great team like VASJ. We had guys 6-foot-5, 6-3 and 6-5 flying at us and it took a while to adjust. But we were down 20 and fought back. They didn't roll over or let us back in the game, we earned it, and I am proud of that."

VASJ senior Darryl Rushton and junior Maurice Haynes played a huge role in helping get Lighty to a regional. Rushton, an all-tournament player, scored 10 points and had eight rebounds. Haynes backed up Lighty with 18 points, 12 in the second half to help stave off the Berkshire comeback.

"Dave is our guy, but it is important to recognize the effort that Darryl and Mo gave tonight," Wojciechowski said. "Those two were tremendous and they shouldn't be overlooked."
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CPD

3/14/06

SCOUTING BOYS BASKETBALL REGIONAL TOURNAMENTS



Tuesday, March 14, 2006



DIVISION III

Canton

Where: Canton Fieldhouse, 1815 Harrison Ave. N.W., Canton. Call 330-438-2741.

Semifinals: West Salem Northwestern (18-5) vs. St. Peter Chanel (17-6), 6:15 p.m.; Youngstown Ursuline (15-8) vs. Villa Angela-St. Joseph (18-6), 8 p.m. Winner advances to Saturday's 7:30 p.m. regional championship game.

What to watch: After missing last year's regionals because of a torn ACL, VASJ's All-Ohio senior guard David Lighty is on a mission to get his Vikings to Columbus. An Ohio State recruit, the 6-5 Lighty is supported by one of the most underrated players in the area 6-5 senior forward Darryl Rushton. VASJ has played a tremendous schedule, a factor that should come into play in this region. Don't be surprised if it turns out to be a North Coast League final. Bernie Tarr's Chanel Firebirds, who split their two NCL regular-season meetings with the Vikings, have played solid basketball the second half of the season. The Firebirds ran past a talented CVCA team in the Elyria district final. Tarr will call on his "Thrillsome Threesome" of 6-4 guards Jahmil Rippy, John White and Steve Martin.
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CPD

3/15/06


Youngstown Ursuline (15-8) vs. Villa Angela-St. Joseph (18-6)

There probably isn't a player in the state that wants to win as badly as VASJ's David Lighty. The OSU-recruit missed last season's regionals with a torn ACL. Now back at full strength with the regular season under his belt, Lighty will look to make up for lost opportunities and shine in the playoffs. Lighty won't have to do it all himself, as he has a solid supporting cast led by forward Daryl Rushton.

Ursuline will try to stymie the Vikings with smothering defensive play. The Irish grabbed the district championship over Campbell with a 43-41 victory in which they allowed only two points in the second quarter. They have a solid player in Lance Campbell.

VASJ is another team that has benefitted from a rigorous regular season slate. They are battle-tested and will have the best player on the court. I'll take VASJ in this one.

Prediction: VASJ 59 Campbell 51
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Lighty and VASJ advanced to the regional championship game[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica][/FONT][/FONT] with a [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]57-[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]48 victory over Youngstown [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Ursuline. They will face Bedford[/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Chanel on Saturday.
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Canton

3/16/06

H.S. boys basketball: Canton Division III: Late-blooming sophomore paves way for VASJ to reach finale

Thursday, March 16, 2006


[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]By JOSH WEIR Repository sports writer [/FONT]



CANTON - A day before his 16th birthday, Villa Angela-St. Joseph’s Nate Barnes helped blow out the candles on Youngstown Ursuline’s season.

Barnes’ big shots keyed a third-quarter run that gave the Vikings the lead for good in their 57-48 win Wednesday night in a Division III boys high school basketball regional semifinal at Memorial Field House.

VASJ (19-6) advances to Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. final, when it will face Chanel — a 77-72 winner against Northwestern in the early game Wednesday.

David Lighty, who’s part of next year’s heralded recruiting class at Ohio State, had 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals for the Vikings.

But it was Barnes, a 5-8 sophomore who wasn’t getting varsity playing time a month ago, who really made the difference. He scored 7 points during an 8-0 run that turned a 27-24 VASJ deficit into a 32-27 lead in the third. He finished with a career-high 17 points, hitting 6-of-7 shots from the field and two 3-pointers.

“For us to get that performance in this environment from a sophomore is unbelievable,” VASJ coach Dave Wojciechowski said. “He’s going to be a good one.”

The Vikings, with superior length and quickness, used their pressure to overwhelm Ursuline in the third and take control of a game where neither team led by more than 4 in the first half. The Irish committed 9 turnovers and got just four shots off in the third.

The 6-5 Lighty closed the period with a 25-foot 3-pointer that gave the Vikings a 37-29 lead. Ursuline never got its deficit under 6 in the fourth.

“I felt like in the first half we didn’t get after them like we wanted to,” Wojciechowski said. “But we stuck with it and got some baskets. And when we get those baskets and are able to extend the defense, that’s a very good thing for us.”

Lance Randall and D’Aundray Brown each scored 14 points to lead the Irish (15-9). Jerome Jones, a 6-8 University of Toledo football recruit, added 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, but didn’t get nearly enough touches.

No other player scored for Ursuline until late in the fourth.


VASJ 57, Ursuline 48

VASJ (19-6): Leden 1 1-2 3, Ward 2 0-0 4, Rushton 4 1-1 10, McLeod 1 0-0 2, Lighty 3 9-14 17, M.Haynes 2 0-0 4, Barnes 6 3-4 17. Totals 19-47 14-21 57.
Ursuline (15-9): McCartney 1 0-0 3, White 1 0-0 3, Randall 5 1-2 14, Brown 7 0-0 14, Jones 6 0-3 12, Muir 1 0-1 2. Totals 21-40 1-6 48.
VASJ 14 10 13 20 — 57 Ursuline15 9 5 19 — 48 3-point goals—Randall 3, Barnes 2, Lighty 2, Rushton, McCartney, White. Fouls—Ursuline 21-13. Fouled out—McCartney, Randall, Ward. Rebounds—VASJ 26 (M.Haynes 10); Ursuline 27 (Jones 10).
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