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Joey Vuyancih

Friday, March 23, 2012

Lake Catholic Boys Basketball Team Falls To Dunbar

Cougars' playoff run ends at state semis

Sometimes Goliath wins. The Lake Catholic boys basketball team played hard but still fell to the unbeaten juggernaut Dunbar of Dayton 75-60 Friday morning in the state semis. Despite Dunbar's size advantage, the Cougars were able to keep the game close for 3 1/2 quarters. With 6:28 left in the fourth quarter, Dunbar only led 47-42. Senior Mike Whalen kept Lake Catholic close through the top half of the quarter, scoring eight of the Cougars' points consecutively. But the Wolverines went on 13-5 run, which gave them breathing room that they had not enjoyed all game. Creighton commit Andre Yates led Dunbar (27-0) with 26 points. However, the Cougars never folded. They closed the gap to 61-53 with two minutes left after a three from Joey …

Lake Catholic Hopes to Cap Season of Highs With a Championship

Boys basketball team is two wins away from the school's first Division II state title

In a season full of shattered records, awards and a potential state championship, Lake Catholic boys basketball coach Mark Chicone remembers his team’s lowest point total as the apex of the year. “I really thought that was probably the most important win in our season,” Chicone said of a 39-35 victory over Walsh Jesuit in February. “It really became a drag-down, sock-it-out fight for every rebound and every possession. It was a very physical game on the road against a very good team.” The head coach hopes his team will recall that win and more Friday when it faces Dayton Dunbar in the Division II state semifinals at 10:45 a.m. Friday at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus. Since Dunbar is undefeated and ranked No. 1, a low-scoring …

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Lake Catholic Boys' Basketball Goes to State

Cougars knock off SVSM, head to Columbus

St. Vincent-St. Mary guard Treyvon Crater seemingly had a clear lane to the goal with precious few seconds remaining and intentions of crushing Lake Catholic’s long-held dream, the school’s first Final Four in boys’ basketball. But Cougars senior forward Dan Schweikert quickly closed on Crater and seemingly flew out of the Canton Memorial Civic Center’s rafters boldly swatting away the Irish guard’s threat and preventing the Region II final from being any more complicated than it needed to be Saturday. Cougars head basketball coach Mark Chicone let out a victory yell, squeezed his assistant coaches and junior forward Mark Baniewicz canned a pair of free throws with 1.5 seconds left as Lake Catholic found itself headed to Columbus after …

Friday, March 16, 2012

Lake Catholic Boys Basketball Team Beats Struthers

The Cougars advance to the regional final this Saturday

There are no weak teams in the OHSAA regional tournament. No, the lesser teams are all weeded out during the regular season and early rounds of the sectional tournament. So Lake Catholic's boys basketball team not only won Thursday, 68-39, to advance to the regional final, they did it against a strong team. Looking at the final score and how easy Lake Catholic sometimes made it look, it is easy to forget that. The Cougars played a compete game and had a comfortable 11-point lead at the end of the third quarter. But in the fourth quarter, the game shifted into a blowout with Lake Catholic outscoring Struthers 27-9. Mark Baniewicz led the team's scoring with 23 points but contributions came from throughout the lineup. Seniors Mike Whalen and…

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Lake Catholic Wins With Last-Minute Heroics From Vuyancih

Joey Vuyancih helps Lake Catholic win the regional final with 31 points, game-winning shot

Big players make big plays, right? That's the motto. Well, Joey Vuyancih must be a big player then because his shot just won the Lake Catholic boys basketball team the regional final against John Hay Saturday night. With about 10 seconds left and the game knotted at 69, Senior guard Vuyancih sank a jump shot that was the difference. Vuyancih, the top scorer in his school's history, had a hot hand all evening. He led Lake Catholic and all scorers with 31 points on the team's way to a 71-69 win. "Everything for me tonight seemed to be going in," Vuyancih told cleveland.com. "I could have thrown that up backwards and it would have gone in." While Vuyancih led the charge, he didn't do it alone. Junior Mark Baniewicz posted 14 points and Senior…

Friday, March 9, 2012

Lake Catholic, Mentor Boys Basketball Teams Both Win Tight Ones

Both the Cardinals and Cougars won their district semifinals by a margin of two points

It wasn't easy for either but both the Mentor High and Lake Catholic boys basketball teams are playing in their respective district finals. The Cardinals and Cougars both won their games by a margin of two points. Mentor beat East Tech 71 to 69 Thursday. Brothers Brandon and Justin Fritts scored 18 and 16 points, respectively, and Danny Wallack scored 13 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to lead the charge for Mentor. The Cardinals will play Lyndhurst Brush 7 p.m. Saturday for the district championship in Euclid. Meanwhile, Lake Catholic beat University School 54-52 Thursday. The game was not always as close as its ending. The Cougars never trailed and led by as much as 11, but the game still came down to a final missed three by …

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Mentor, Lake Catholic Boys Basketball Teams Advance In Playoffs

Lake Catholic beat Ashtabula Edgewood 112-65; Mentor topped Shaw 102-88

Both Mentor High and Lake Catholic boys basketball teams both scored in triple digits and earned big wins Friday night to advance in the playoffs. Lake Catholic knocked off Ashtabula Edgewood 112-65 and Mentor topped Stow 102-88. Justin Fritts lead the Cardinals with 30 points. Jeff Foreman, Caleb Potter and Brandon Fritts also scored in double digits. Shaw kept the game close early and the teams were tied at 23 at the end of the first quarter. However, Mentor outscored Shaw by 15 points in the second quarter and another 13 points in the third. Cordell Smith lead Shaw with 42 points. Mentor's next game will be 7 p.m. Tuesday against East Tech, which beat Mayfield Friday, in Euclid. Meanwhile, Dan Schweikert lead the charge for Lake …

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Joey Vuyancih Breaks Lake Catholic Scoring Record

Vuyancih topped the school's scoring record during the boys basketball team's win over previously undefeated Chanel

Joey Vuyancih had a good night Tuesday. Not only did the Lake Catholic boys basketball team (10-2) top previously unbeaten Chanel 61-56, but Vuyancih broke his high school's scoring record. Vuyancih scored 28 points but he only needed 22 to break the basketball scoring record of 1,073, which was previously set by Steven Eppich. Eppich now coaches Lake Catholic's girls basketball team. Vuyancih put the emphasis on the win, not the record, when interviewed after the game. "The shots were there for me in the flow of our offense (Tuesday)," Vuyancih told The News-Herald. "This was a very important victory for us."

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