Wednesday, January 24, 2001
St. X beats Alter, stays atop GCL South
Callahan returns from injury to spark 53-36 win
By Dave Schutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
St.Xavier, ranked No. 3 in the Ohio Division I poll, performed like a fine-tuned machine Tuesday night, handing Kettering Alter, No. 1 in the state Division II poll, a 53-36 loss at Alter.
The victory enabled the Bombers to retain first place in the Greater Catholic League South, one game ahead of Elder and Moeller. Alter remained in first in the GCL North.
St.Xavier senior point guard Steve Callahan, back in the lineup after sitting out the past three games with a sprained right ankle, scored 11 points and handed out five assists.
“Steve is the glue to the team,” St.Xavier coach Scott Martin said. “We let him take care of the ball, and it opens it for the others.”
The decision to play Callahan was made just before game time.
“The doctors told me I'd be out three weeks, and that meant coming back for Moeller,” Callahan said. “But it felt all right today.”
Alter coach Joe Petrocelli credited St.Xavier's defense, discipline and precise passing as the difference.
“They are very patient and sometimes pass the ball 15 times before shooting,” Petrocelli said. “They're also tough defensively. But this was our sixth game in 11 days, and the kids looked tired.”
St.X put away the game in the third quarter after Alter pulled within one at 22-21 with 4:22 remaining. At that point, the Knights turned over the ball and the Bombers went on a 13-3 run to take a 35-24 lead.
“How many times do you see a team make a mistake and the opponent then scores?” Petrocelli said. “St.X did just that and we never recovered. We're not the type of team that can go man-to-man and come back.”
During the third-quarter run, Jordan Cornette, held scoreless in the first half because of foul trouble, scored five points and Mike Grogan had six.
Cornette played an important role on defense. He blocked four shots and held Alter's leading scorer, Adam Waleskowski, to a season-low 10 points.
“Last year we led by two at halftime and ended up losing by 16 points,” Petrocelli said. “St.X has an outstanding team and they are deep.”
ST. XAVIER (53) — Callahan 3 5 11, Grogan 4 4 14, Cornette 5 1 13, Bast 2 1 5, Retzinger 1 0 2, Cashen 3 0 6. Totals: 19 11 53.
KETTERING ALTER (36) — Waleskowski 4 2 10, Kohns 4 0 6, Jones 2 1 6, J. Penno 1 0 2, Laumann 2 0 5, Totals: 15 4 36.
St. Xavier ....... 10 7 18 18—53
Alter ....... 5 10 9 12—36
3-pointers: St.X — Grogan 2, Cornette 2. A--Laumann, Jones.
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St. X beats Alter, stays atop GCL South
