High school boys basketball tournament capsules

March 8.

Any midyear roster turnover presents a near-impossible situation for any team, and Mayfield was no exception. The Wildcats endured a two-win season and to cap it, have to face the Cardinals in a sectional final. Coach Bob Krizancic rested lead guards Jack Korsok and Manning Trubisky in a sectional semifinal win against North, but those two figure to see some kind of action against Mayfield to stay crisp. to play Kenston on March 8.

On paper, this matchup appears to heavily favor Garfield Heights. But on Dec. 28, the Panthers went in to Garfield Heights and took the Bulldogs to overtime, where the Panthers fell 88-85. The game went to overtime as a result of a technical foul called on Euclid that put Garfield Heights on the line for the game-tying free throws with two seconds left. Garvin Clarke made the go-ahead basket with two seconds left in regulation and when he celebrated the play with his teammates as Bulldogs coach Sonny Johnson called timeout, Euclid was issued a technical foul. The call was condemned by Euclid coach Jonathan Harris as well as Johnson, in a turn of events that arguably robbed the Panthers of a signature win this season. Clarke and Emari Baddour have shown growth at the guard spots throughout this season, and the Panthers have finished the season as strong as they could with two wins in their last three games. Marreon Jackson and Shawn Christian make up as good of a backcourt as there is in the state, and the Bulldogs’ bigs are long and quick.

Heights

Garfield