The Central Catholic boys’ basketball team outlasted rival St. John’s Jesuit, 65-57, on Tuesday in the Titan Dome.  With the hard-fought road victory, the unbeaten Fighting Irish improve to 3-0 overall, 2-0 in the Catholic High School League.

CCHS outscored the host Titans 31-25 in the 2nd half to avenge a pair of losses to its rival a season ago.

Sophomore Isaiah Mack-Russell paced a balanced Scarlet & Gray attack with a game-high 16 points, followed closely by classmate Cayden Kynard with 15 points. 

Junior Manny Johnson nearly totaled a triple-double in the Central Division showdown, finishing with 14 points, 7 rebounds, and a squad-best 7 assists.

The Fighting Irish also benefited from strong efforts by junior Draden Wardrop (9 points, 9 boards) and junior Kaeden Carruthers (8 points, team-high 10 caroms) to help them remain unbeaten on the season.

Ethan James and Race Kowalczyk each scored 14 points for St. John’s Jesuit (2-3, 1-2 CHSL).

Earlier in the evening, the CCHS freshman team suffered a 46-30 loss vs. SJJ, while the junior varsity squad dropped a 55-50 decision.

The Fighting Irish will return to the hardwood against Solon on Saturday, December 21 in the Sullivan Center, starting with the freshmen contest at 1 p.m.  Tickets for this weekend’s non-league matchup on Cherry Street can be purchased at bit.ly/3EjJhky.