St. Edward High School (Lakewood, OH)

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Players of Interest:

Delvon Roe

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St. Eds beat Warrensville Heights, 79-43 in their season opener.....

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link

12/17/05

BOYS BASKETBALL#10 SVSM 84#3 ST. EDWARD 74

<H1 class=red>Surprise party

</H1>

Saturday, December 17, 2005 Eddie Dwyer

Plain Dealer Reporter
Marcus Johnson won't soon forget his 18th birthday.

For that matter, neither will the rest of the Fighting Irish.

St. Vincent-St. Mary, trailing by seven points entering the fourth quarter, picked up its defensive pressure and stunned St. Edward, 84-74, Friday night in a nonleague boys basketball game at the Eagles Nest.

St. Vincent-St. Mary, ranked 10th in The Plain Dealer's Top 25 poll, took control with a 17-0 run in the final eight minutes and improved to 3-1.

Third-ranked St. Edward, which couldn't overcome SVSM's ball pressure and clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch, slipped to 2-1.

"I was in foul trouble," said Johnson, who went to the bench after picking up his fourth foul with 52 seconds remaining in the third quarter. "But we needed to get some stops, and my teammates worked hard for that. And our pressure finally came through."

Did it ever.

The 6-3 Johnson, a University of Dayton recruit, returned to the court with just over seven minutes left and wasted no time in igniting the 17-0 run.
Johnson, who finished with a game-high 26 points, converted a steal into a soft jumper, made another steal and went strong to the basket for two more of his team's 40 fourth-quarter points.

Forcing St. Edward into turnovers and preventing the Eagles from getting into their halfcourt offense, the Fighting Irish rode two free throws by junior guard Gregory Preer, a layup by senior guard Brian Glasper, a 3-pointer by Preer, a four-point play by senior guard Patrick Nygaard and two free throws by Preer to a 66-54 lead with 5:26 left.

"They were just killing us early on with that high-low stuff," SVSM coach Dru Joyce said. "They are so big, and they run it well. So I made a decision to go small [with the lineup] and do what we do best. And that's pressure it, trap and create a little havoc."

St. Edward, which got 25 points from its multitalented sophomore post Delvon Roe, cut the deficit to six points with 30.4 seconds to go.

Johnson's teammates refused to allow the Eagles to spoil their go-to player's birthday as Glasper, who scored 19 points and was 10-of-11 from the free-throw line, sealed the deal with clutch free throws.

"[In] situations tonight, when [St. Vincent-St. Mary] was going on that run, I think at any time I could have called a timeout," St. Edward coach Eric Flannery said. "There's no question, when you look back, I should have. But one of the reasons I didn't is that I want to test that toughness of our players and see if guys are willing to step up."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

edwyer@plaind.com, 216-999-4677

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Roe scored 18 points in a 61-47 win over Zanesville on Sunday.

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St. Edward, 3-1 hosts Strongsville tonight.....

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St. Eds defeated Strongsville, 78-71. Roe scored 25 points.

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Yesterday, St. Eds beat Monsignor Pace of Opa Locka, Fla, 72-62.