St. Edward High School (Lakewood, OH)

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St. Edward, 9-4 (7): At Eastlake North on Friday night.

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link

1/29/06

BOYS BASKETBALL

Aerni lobs, Roe slams, Eagles win

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Eddie Dwyer

Plain Dealer Reporter

St. Edward's Delvon Roe and Jeff Aerni said it is a play they repeat over and over -- before practice, after practice and, as Aerni said, even in gym class.

"Yeah, we practice it, and it almost never works," said a smiling Roe. "Maybe one in a million."

Make that two.

Roe, getting a solid back-screen pick from senior guard Reid Anderson, caught a picture-perfect lob pass from Aerni and slammed home two points with six seconds remaining, helping the Eagles to a dramatic, 74-71 overtime victory over Villa Angela-St. Joseph Saturday night in front of a standing-room-only crowd at VASJ's Viking Village.

St. Edward, which ran the final 2:49 down to 12 seconds before setting up the telling play, improved to 11-4. The Eagles, who also got a free throw from Aerni with 1.9 seconds left, entered the game ranked sixth in The Plain Dealer's Top 25 poll.

VASJ, which got a 44-point performance from Ohio State recruit David Lighty, slipped to 9-4. The Vikings are ranked fifth in the area.

"Reid set a nice pick on Lighty, and I knew there was no way Delvon wasn't going to catch it," said Aerni, a 6-0 senior who was one of five Eagles to finish in double figures. "Two months ago, we wouldn't have won this game. But we have really come together."

St. Edward needed every bit of its balanced scoring to offset Lighty's effort as the 6-5 senior came up just five points shy of tying his single-game career record. Scoring on an assortment of strong drives and tough perimeter shots, he led the Vikings to a nine-point lead in the third quarter.

He scored 22 points in each half.

St. Edward, with the 6-8 Roe playing with four fouls down the stretch, and displaying the savvy one doesn't associate with a sophomore, battled back.

With Roe, Aerni, Anderson, junior forward Kyle Hubbard and junior guard Nne Lewis leading the way, the Eagles led, 68-66, after Roe scored on a move down the lane with 1:17 to go in regulation. Roe's basket followed a five-point run by Lighty, including a 3-pointer that tied the score at 66 with 2:36 left in the fourth quarter.

After two free throws by Vikings senior guard Erich Leden forced overtime, Lighty tied the game at 71 by splitting one of two free throws. St. Edward had taken a 71-70 lead on a 3-pointer by Lewis, one of 11 by the Eagles.

"Just something about that play told me it was going to work tonight," said St. Edward coach Eric Flannery. "We work on end-of-game, end-of-quarter situations, and that is one of them. It needed to be a perfect pass, and it was."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

edwyer@plaind.com, 216-999-5169

Delvon Roe of St. Ed's makes the winning basket against Villa Angela-St. Joseph in overtime, at VASJ, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2006. St. Ed's won in overtime, 74-71.





Jeff Aerni (5) of St. Ed's can't get to the ball as David Lighty of Villa Angela-St. Joseph, rear, watches during the third quarter, at VASJ, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2006. St. Ed's won in overtime, 74-71.





Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School center Maurice Haynes, center, is hemmed in by St. Ed's defenders Kyle Hubbard (15), right, and Delvon Roe, left, during the second quarter, at VASJ, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2006. St. Ed's won in overtime, 74-71.





Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School guard David Lighty (35) drives to the basket as St. Ed defender Kyle Hubbard (15) blocks, during the first quarter, at VASJ, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2006. St. Ed's won in overtime, 74-71.

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St. Edward, 11-4 At Shaker Heights on Saturday afternoon.

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PlainDealer

2/5/06

St. Edward 73, Shaker Heights 56

Sophomore center Delvon Roe's 28 points headed the No. 5-ranked Eagles to a non-league win. No. 20-ranked Shaker Heights had senior guard Bakari Lewis collect 15 points.

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St. Edward, 12-4 At St. Ignatius on Friday night.

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PlainDealer

2/9/06

Will Eagles get the brooms out?

Friday night at St. Ignatius' Sullivan Gymnasium, St. Edward will attempt to sweep a regular-season series from the Wildcats for the first time since 1997-98, when the Eagles won the big-school state championship. That season, the Eagles defeated St. Ignatius three times as the two longtime West Side rivals played for the Division I state championship at St. John Arena. St. Edward brought home the title with a 70-61 victory.

Two of Friday night's key participants - Wildcats 6-4 senior guard Rudy Kirbus and Eagles 6-8 sophomore post Delvon Roe - are having exceptional seasons. Roe is averaging 19.8 points and 11.5 rebounds and Kirbus is averaging 26.5 points and 8.7 rebounds, and has 30 3-pointers.

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CPD

2/11/06

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL ST. EDWARD 71ST. IGNATIUS 64

<H1 class=red>Eagles stay poised, sweep away Wildcats

</H1>

Saturday, February 11, 2006 Eddie Dwyer


Plain Dealer Reporter

No, it wasn't a victory at the district, regional or state level.
But to St. Edward and St. Ignatius fans, it is as big as it gets.
So big that Eagles senior guard Jeff Aerni described his post-game feelings as "truly amazing."
St. Edward, with Aerni playing a major role down the stretch, held off the Wildcats, 71-64, Friday night in front of a crowd of more than 2,500 at St. Ignatius' Sullivan Gymnasium.
With the victory, the Eagles improved to 13-4 and swept the regular-season series from the Wildcats for the first time since 1997-98, when St. Edward brought home the Division I state bas- ketball champion ship. That season, the Eagles defeated St. Ignatius three times as the two longtime West Side rivals matched up in the state championship game.
"It doesn't sum up my [school] year, but it feels great," said Aerni, who hit two big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and was one of five Eagles in double figures. "I've been thinking about this game for months."
St. Edward, ranked fifth in The Plain Dealer's Top 25 poll, came out with the hot hand and on the strength of four 3-pointers led, 24-16, after the first eight minutes.
St. Ignatius (10-6), the area's 12th-ranked team, responded behind the hustle of senior post John Ryan, senior guard Rudy Kirbus and senior guard/forward T.J. DiSanto. A 3-pointer by DiSanto and a free throw by Kirbus put the Wildcats in front, 31-30, with 1:59 remaining in the first half.
Keeping their composure, the Eagles answered with senior guard Reid Anderson's third 3-pointer and took a 35-31 lead to the locker room after 6-8 sophomore Delvon Roe canned two free throws.
Kirbus dropped in 13 of his game-high 25 points in the first 16 minutes.
"I was struggling in the first half, but coach [Eric Flannery] told me to stay confident and keep shooting," said Aerni, who scored all 13 of his points in the second half, including three 3-pointers. "They all felt good, but they weren't dropping. But I knew eventually they would."
After St. Ignatius took a 52-51 lead on a three-point play by senior guard Robby Parris, Aerni followed a strong drive by Anderson with two high-arching 3-pointers that extended St. Edward's lead to seven points. Anderson led the Eagles with 17 points.
A putback by Roe and two free throws by junior forward Kyle Hubbard enabled St. Edward to maintain a seven-point lead with 2:04 remaining, and the Eagles withstood 3-pointers by Parris and DiSanto.
"I think this is one of those character-building games, and it builds so much confidence for us," said Flannery. "Our two seniors stepped up tonight - Reid Anderson going to the basket and Jeff Aerni knocking down those threes. It's nice when your superstar [Roe] doesn't have a great game offensively and you still find a way to win. Especially in a place like this."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
edwyer@plaind.com, 216-999-5169