After an eight-point victory against North Central in the opening round, the Irish look to keep making their run in Sectional 10 as they take on the Titans of Arsenal Tech on March 4 in the 7:30 p.m. game at North Central. The victory against the Panthers was the team’s first Sectional win in seven years.

This will be the third time the Irish meet up with Tech this season. The teams split the season series 1-1 but this game matters most. Head Coach Mr. Jason Delaney tells fans why.

“The atmosphere tonight is going to be electric. You’ve got Lawrence North and Warren Central in the 6 p.m. game. That game is going to bring a huge crowd. Our game is going to bring a huge crowd. This is why you grow up playing basketball in Indiana. This is what you want to play for and play in front of. That’s why you come to Cathedral and play in Sectional 10. You play for this stage, right here,” Delaney said.

Arsenal Tech has a roster stacked full of Division I talent, as their coach, Mr. Damon Turner, has pulled at least part of this year’s talented roster from basketball prep schools that that play a national schedule. Several played under Turner on his summer AAU team, Team Teague. The IHSAA just announced that because of these transfers, Turner will be suspended for the remainder of the season under the link-transfer rule.

Delaney, though, said this does not change anything.

“The IHSAA got involved with some past-link things. Their assistant coach has been on their coaching staff all year and he did a really good job with them the other night against Lawrence Central. He’s known most of the kids on their current roster for years. They’re going to be ready to go and now they have purpose. They have something that’s pushing them. They feel like the suspension of their coach was wrong and that now gives them emotional fire and something to play for. Our execution, our discipline and attention to detail is going to be the difference,” the coach said.

The last time the Irish played the Titans, the game ended in a somewhat chippy scene and the contest was called early due to the some pushing and shoving between players and assistant coaches on both sides. Delaney said, “We have to remember what’s at stake. You can’t have any more slip-ups or mess-ups because you’re representing your school. We don’t want to be painted in that light. We didn’t like it the first time when we played against Tech in (the) City (tournament).

“We have to understand that if we have any emotional outbursts or anything like that again tonight, we’re done for the tournament. We just can’t and won’t go that route. We as coaches just keep reiterating that we, as a team, need to play within ourselves and play together.

“This current rivalry this season goes back to the old days of Tech vs. Cathedral. There were years where we would play three times in a season; we even played four times one year. It’s a rivalry. You’ve got two sides that obviously respect each other, but they don’t like each other. That’s part of the fun of this. Some of the games I remember most when I was coaching at Tech, we were against Cathedral in the Sectional. We had some great games and great battles. It’s similar to the North Carolina vs. Duke rivalry where you respect each other but you don’t like each other.”

Delaney said the keys to the game is playing how the Irish know how to play and not beating themselves with turnovers and dumb mistakes. Delaney said, “I think we have to play like we did in City where we have to be disciplined. We have to make sure we’re executing on both sides of the court and make sure we’re not getting out of control or playing with emotions. I think those are the biggest keys for us.

“For Tech, they’re playing very loose right now. It’s kind of like they don’t have anything to lose, watching them against Lawrence Central (in their opening game). We have to make sure we’re the more disciplined team.”