St. Edward Basketball '20-'21

EaglePride01

Well-known member
After graduating a talented senior class that finally seemed poised to live up the expectations (only to have the season cut short in the Elite 8), the Eagles will be looking to rebuild this year. Quite honestly, it's years like this that I find myself most interested in seeing what Flan can do with a bunch of new faces and without preseason hype. Leading the group this year should be junior guard Michael Bova who moves over to the point. He provided quality minutes off the bench last year as a sophomore and did not look overwhelmed. Aside from Bova, I'm honestly not quite sure what to expect other than we look to be guard heavy this year with seniors Shane Macalla and Mason Lerch, as well as juniors Zyion Freer-Brown and Jair Knight.

The schedule will be challenging as usual (including 10 opponents in the PD Preseason Top 25), and I expect to take some bumps and bruises. But with the virus still an issue, we are already seeing the cancellations and facing uncertainty as to where this season may go.

Schedule:

11/28/20 v. Lakewood - Cancelled
12/11/20 v. Warren G. Harding - Cancelled
12/11/20 v. Richmond Heights - W, 74-62
12/12/20 v. St. John's Jesuit - W, 69-55
12/15/20 @ Brush - W, 68-64
12/18/20 @ Benedictine - W, 82-63
1/3/21 @ Euclid (Play-By-Play @ Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse) - Cancelled
1/8/21 v. St. Ignatius - W, 84-76
1/13/21 v. Akron Buchtel - W, 77-73
1/19/21 v. Lorain - W, 81-75
1/22/21 v. ISA Prep - W, 61-59
1/23/21 v. Akron Hoban - W, 76-68
1/24/21 @ Shaker Heights (Chet Mason Classic @ Brush) - L, 77-71
1/29/21 v. Lima Senior - W, 70-56
1/30/21 @ Cleveland Central Catholic - W, 63-49
2/5/21 @ St. Ignatius - L, 52-44
2/9/21 v. Lutheran East - W, 52-51
2/12/21 @ St. Vincent St. Mary - L, 88-58
2/13/21 v. Centerville - L, 55-44
2/17/21 v. Warrensville Heights - Cancelled
2/19/21 @ Lakeside - Cancelled
2/20/21 v. VASJ - Cancelled
 
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Big opening weekend on tap as the Eagles will play host to a very talented Richmond Heights team on Friday, followed by perennial power Toledo St. John's on Saturday. Should tell us pretty quickly what the learning curve might be for this year's fresh-faced team.
 
Looks like this team will live and die by the three pointer this year. Eagles win over Richmond Heights by about 12.
 
Looks like this team will live and die by the three pointer this year. Eagles win over Richmond Heights by about 12.

No doubt this guard-centric team will rely heavily on outside shooting, but they actually had plenty of opportunities inside last night. Just had trouble finishing. Bova can really attack the rim with his quickness and handles, and he draws a lot of attention to the middle to leave guys open outside. Very impressed by the win against a long, athletic, and talented Richmond Heights team.
 
Eagles open up 2-0 with the 69-55 win over TSJ last night. Bova looked really good again and paced the team with 19 points.
 
Very impressed wi
Th these two wins. Low expectations due to graduations but Flannery is again impressing with depth, D and hustle. Love to see this team get better because they will.
 
Another nice win last night in the first road contest of the year as the Eagles held off a late Brush rally to win 68-64. Macalla led the Eagles with 20, while Brush's Elmore James was very impressive and led all scorers with 36.
 
Not a better coach in Cleveland HS Basketball......plus no drama and baggage that others seem to drag along
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So true, he is our Coach Kyle. Hope he never leaves. Cleveland State was stupid to not hire him. Local guy who would have known local under radar kids. Highly networked through USA basketball. Glad he stayed.
 
With the cancellation of the Play-by-Play event, it looks like the next scheduled game will be against the Wildcats on Jan. 8th. Any word on whether we can expect a new opponent this weekend? Would be a long layoff if not.
 
St. Ed's grad Tommy Schmock hits the buzzer beater for U Findlay. Sportscenter Top 10, #7


Booooo. It was against my Chargers ;).

Great game between 2 top 25 teams in D2.
 
Despite the layoff, the Eagles came out hot and built a lead that was never relinquished. Wildcats put a lot of pressure on in the third, attacked the basket, and shrunk the lead to 3. The fourth quarter was a bit of a free throw shooting contest with both teams going to the line frequently. Big nights from Bova (26 points) and Macalla (25 points) saw the Eagles win 84-76 and move to 5-0 on the season. The Ignatius freshman were impressive in their Holy War debut and the future looks bright there with Little and Jackson.
 

Highlights from last nights game against Buchtel courtesy of Matt Goul at cleveland.com. Back and forth game early on that saw Ed's build a 12-point lead with about 2 min. to go, but Chris Livingston and Buchtel made some big plays down the stretch to make it a 4-point game in the waning seconds. The comeback was assisted by the Eagles inability to hit the clutch free throws down the stretch as Buchtel was in foul mode to extend the game. I think we went 1-10 from the line in those last two minutes. Aside from that, Bova continues to impress as a scorer and facilitator, and led everyone with 28 points. Livingston had 25 for Buchtel, and definitely lived up to his ranking. Very impressive athlete.
 
Thank You Eagle Pride for posting these videos. Not possible to access the “exclusive” Cleveland.com page to view it. Keep it up as we really appreciate it. Go Eagles.
 
Just so all of you aren’t relying on EaglePride and want to access these yourself, all of those videos are posted to the Cleveland.com YouTube page
 
It’s been very quiet in the forums this winter, so I’ll just post this nugget for some reactions. MaxPreps just ranked St. Ed’s as the number 1 team in D1. The wrestling and hockey teams are also currently ranked #1 in the state. Bringing back memories of 1998.

Regardless of what happens, it’s been a great start after going through 2020 yet very few of the regular posters have chimed in this year.
 
Cautiously encouraged by this unbeaten team. Wonder how they would fare against downstate teams. So impressive so far. Just playing well enough to win against some very good teams. Late pressure defense is a winning formula. Pretty good shooting team. Very much enjoying watching this team get better.
 
This team has certainly been a pleasant surprise. They don't have much size or the star power that last year's team did. Aside from Bova (who is one of the better scorers I have seen in my time watching Ed's basketball), I don't know that there's anything close to a D1 caliber college player among this bunch. But they do have shooters and a bunch of solid all-around basketball players. Good depth as well with guys like Freer-Brown and Knight coming off the bench who can score and defend.
 
Eagles drop their first game of the year. Not a shocker playing their third game in as many days against a good Shaker team. Only two days off before they take on a loaded Lutheran East team.
 
Eagles drop their first game of the year. Not a shocker playing their third game in as many days against a good Shaker team. Only two days off before they take on a loaded Lutheran East team.
The Eagles website shows the next game will be against Lima Senior on Friday, with the Lutheran East game scheduled for February 9th.
 
So true, he is our Coach Kyle. Hope he never leaves. Cleveland State was stupid to not hire him. Local guy who would have known local under radar kids. Highly networked through USA basketball. Glad he stayed.

Interesting. Was he offered the CSU job or just mentioned as a candidate? I agree that he would have been a solid choice for CSU. As an Ignatius alum, I would have encouraged the move ;).
 
Interesting. Was he offered the CSU job or just mentioned as a candidate? I agree that he would have been a solid choice for CSU. As an Ignatius alum, I would have encouraged the move ;).
I don’t think he was offered, but was a candidate. I bet an Iggy alum would hope he would go somewhere else.?
 
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