AKRON, Ohio — St. Edward's defense turned St. Vincent-St. Mary's boys basketball team inside out. Kyle Pisco, Delbert Love and Myles Hamilton tied the Irish in knots. Add it up, and the Eagles put themselves in the win column for the first time this season in a convincing 110-92 road win Friday.
AKRON, Ohio — St. Edward's defense turned St. Vincent-St. Mary's boys basketball team inside out. Kyle Pisco, Delbert Love and Myles Hamilton tied the Irish in knots.
Add it up, and the Eagles put themselves in the win column for the first time this season in a convincing 110-92 road win Friday.
Using an 11-man rotation during an incredible first half, St. Edward came out in a full-court press and never let up.
As a result, SVSM (2-3) found itself down, 57-37, at intermission in what could be viewed as a near-pristine first half by the Eagles (1-1), The Plain Dealer's No. 4 team.
St. Edward forced 15 turnovers in the opening 16 minutes -- resulting in 20 points -- and shot a blistering 50 percent (13-of-26) from the field.
Most of that came from an inside-out attack as Pisco hit five first-half 3-pointers to account for 18 of the team's 57 points at the break.
"On the road and coming off a loss, that's as good as we can play offensively and defensively," St. Edward coach Eric Flannery said. "It's such a big factor to get off to a good start. This is a young team. We play off confidence."
All the confidence the squad needed came in a 13-2 run in the second quarter that essentially iced the game long before the final buzzer.
A crowd that included former Cavaliers coach Mike Brown, Akron Zips basketball coach Keith Dambrot and former SVSM player and current Brewster Academy (R.I.) senior JaKarr Sampson, saw the Irish simply go cold.
"I was outcoached, we were outplayed and they kicked our butts from the beginning," SVSM coach Dru Joyce said.
When Pisco wasn't having a huge 15-point second quarter, Love was keeping the No. 6 Irish at bay with a 15-point second half -- he finished with 26. Hamilton chipped in 17 points and added a team-high 10 rebounds and four assists.
"That felt great," Love said. "When we play like we did in all facets of the game and do things like that, we're going to be tough to beat."
The win gives the Eagles some much-needed momentum as it readies for games against Villa-Angela St. Joseph and Strongsville before heading to play in the Max Preps Holiday Classic in San Diego.
"This was a huge team win," Flannery said. "It was good to get off the schneid and get a win on the road."
Ricky Johnson led SVSM with 26 points -- 16 in the final quarter -- while DJ Blanks added 16 and Davonte' Beard had 15.
Brad Bournival is a freelance writer in North Royalton.