Cornerstone routed by ‘impressive’ Solon

It isn’t exactly going out on a limb to say by the time the postseason rolls around in March, Cornerstone Christian will be the most battle-tested Division IV team in Ohio.

For a team that has already played St. Edward, St, Ignatius, Cleveland Heights and Cleveland Central Catholic, a matchup with visiting Solon, undefeated and ranked No. 2 in the state in D-I according to the Associated Press poll, presented plenty of intrigue Jan. 16.

The Comets took all that intrigue away pretty quickly, shooting the lights out and running their way past the Patriots, 104-72.

An inside bucket by 6-foot-4 junior Ja’Shawn Robinson gave Cornerstone its second, and last, lead of the game at 15-14 midway through the first quarter.

Solon (10-0) then took advantage of a few Patriots turnovers to put together a 9-0 run and took a 26-18 lead into the second quarter.

The Comets dropped the hammer in the second frame, sinking five 3s and outscoring Cornerstone, 2914, to take a 55-32 lead into the half.

It didn’t get any better for the home team in the third quarter, as Solon drained five more triples and dominated that frame to the tune of 32-14 to end any Patriot comeback hopes.

Solon, which lists nine of its 14 varsity players at 6-foot or under, and doesn’t have a player taller than 6-4, was led by guard Sincere Carry, who scored 28 points and dished out a slew of assists. Carry was a perfect 6-for-6 from outside the arc in the first half and didn’t attempt a 3 in the second.

Trent Williams (20 points), Mike Bekelja (18) and David Marbury (13) also tallied in double figures for the Comets, who connected on 17 of 34 3-point attempts, were quick in transition, displayed on-point passing and were stout defensively.

“You could see why they’re the No. 2-ranked team in the state in Division I,” CCA coach Dan Selle said. “They just keep coming at you. I think they shot 19 of 34 from the 3-point line. I’d like to say we could have played better defense, and of course we could have, but they shoot the ball really well.”

“I’ll say this, and I told (Solon coach Tony DeCesare) if there’s a program in the area we want to emulate, it would be Solon. They don’t have a lot of height, like a lot of Division IV schools (we would play in the postseason) don’t have. But they get it done with pressure, spacing the floor, driving and kicking and making a lot of shots. They’re an impressive team.”

Senior Michael Bothwell led Cornerstone Christian (5-6) with 22 points, and 6-foot-5 senior Kendall Saunders backed him with 20. The Patriots connected on 24 of 60 attempts from the field (40 percent) and 18 of 23 from the line (78 percent), but were unable to slow down the Comets’ onslaught.

Cornerstone’s battle-testing will continue Jan. 19, when Garfield Heights, another of the top D-I teams in Greater Cleveland, pays a visit. A matchup with Brush looms on the horizon at the Dunk for Diabetes showcase at John Carroll on Jan. 28.

“We’ve got to learn from this,” Selle said regarding his postgame message to his team. “We’ll watch the film tomorrow, see what we can do to get better individually and as a team. We’ll have two big practices to get ready before Garfield Heights, a nationally ranked team, comes in on Friday.”