THUNDER BAY – The St. Ignatius Falcons drive for five was never really in question.
The undefeated Falcons roared out to a 30-5 lead on Wednesday night at Lakehead University’s C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse and cruised to a 99-47 win over the St. Patrick Saints, as their senior boys basketball dynasty continued to roll on, despite a new cast of characters leading the 2019 charge.
Jordan Maki, a 6-foot-6 forward who plans to return for a fifth and final high school season next year, said it was a pretty rewarding win.
“It’s crazy. I heard it was a record. It’s awesome. It’s amazing. It’s definitely great to carry on a legacy like that and I’m so happy to be a party of it,” said Maki, who put up 10 points in the first quarter and finished with 18.
The strong start was a confidence booster, the game over before it really began.
Maki said they just stuck to the game plan the rest of the way, not wanting to get into any bad habits ahead of next week’s NWOSSA championship, which St. Ignatius (8-0) will host.
“What we did is we just kept on going. We played out game,” said Maki, praising the Falcons coaching staff for making five championships in a row a possibility.
“They’ve been amazing to us. They’ve been pushing us hard in games and in practice. And then from there, it was the guys. They do their jobs.”
Maki, a force under the rim, was one piece of a well-oiled hoops machine.
Ethan Willmore hit four three-pointers and collecting all 15 of his points in the opening half, while Isaiah Leonardi put up 19, while Lloyd Kargbo scored seven and was a defensive force all night long.
“It feels great. I know the team worked really hard this year to get where we are,” said Kargbo, moments before Leonardi doused him with water to celebrate the win.
“(The Saints) worked hard, so you’ve got to respect them getting to the final. But we just came out the better team.”
The Saints (3-5) struggled to put up points in the early going, the Falcons racing out to a 52-19 halftime lead. To make matters worse, St. Ignatius went on a 19-0 run that began late in the third and continued through much of the fourth – despite the fact Falcons coach Dino Buset emptied his bench for much of the second half.
Jordan Pozihum came on in a reserve role in the fourth and proceeded to bury a trio of three-pointers, while Logan Pelaia posted six second-half points.
St. Pat’s, who edged second-place Westgate 71-67 on Tuesday to earn a championship berth, managed a 9-0 run in the fourth, powered by three Dan Curtis baskets, but were still down 44 when Michael Carpino scored to end it.
Buset said he’s proud of the run the Falcons are on.
“We’ve been fortunate. We’ve had a ton of kids lately coming through the school who love basketball. We feed off them, they feed off us and it’s just a good thing.”
NWOSSA is expected to begin next Friday against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.
