The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Cards win thriller over Benedictine
The NEO Youth Elite Christmas Classic at Garfield Heights saved its best for last.
In the 18th and final game of the boys’ portion of the holiday showcase, Mentor outlasted Benedictine, 83-81, to remain unbeaten in a game worthy of the title, “Classic.”
As is the case with most games that are regarded as classics, the contest featured several momentum swings and surprising turns on its way to a thrilling finish.
Leading, 74-71, with about three minutes to go after battling back from a six-point deficit to start the fourth quarter, Mentor worked the ball around against an airtight Bengal defense, looking for an opening. After what seemed like at least a dozen passes, Chad Rogers broke open to the left side of the basket, took a pass and put it in off the backboard for a fivepoint Cardinals lead.
Mentor (7-0) never trailed again, although 3s by Davin Zeigler and BJ Busbee brought Benedictine within 79-76 and 81-79, respectively. The Cardinals put it away at the line, sinking 14 of 20 fourth-quarter attempts, including two by Luke Chicone that extended the Mentor lead to 83-79 before Zeigler scored a final time.
Chicone, a sophomore, was named the game’s MVP. For the second consecutive night, he had the game-high scoring total, this time tallying 27 points to go with three rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Chicone was 9 of 10 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.
Mason Trubisky (17 points), Luke Floriea (15), Alex Edwards (10), and Caleb Piks (10), joined Chicone to give Mentor five players in double figures. Mentor trailed the entire first quarter until tying it at 20-20 right before the buzzer on an Alex Edwards basket. The Cardinals took a 36-32 lead into halftime and led, 41-32, early in the third before a Benedictine surge put the Bengals back in front.
“I was impressed, being down, 56-50, and regaining the lead after we had blown it,” Mentor coach Bob Krizancic said. “To play the game with a number of guys having four fouls, it was a great characterbuilding game for us. To be 7-0, down deep I thought there was a chance, but realistically, no. These kids are a special group. Every game that we win, we gain more confidence. To win a game like this, in this kind of atmosphere, is absolutely great.”
It took Benedictine (53) nearly the whole third quarter, but the Bengals gradually erased that 4132 deficit. Two three-point shots by Busbee, and three baskets by Zeigler, including a dunk off a steal, aided Benedictine’s push. The Bengals led for most of the fourth-quarter until a dunk by Miami (Ohio)bound Andy Barba gave them their final lead, 6866, with 3:25 to play.
“We didn’t make the little plays down the stretch, gave up some offensive rebounds, a couple loose balls we could have got, that gave them extra possessions,” said acting Benedictine head coach Derrick Zeigler, filling in for Rob Lake Catholic’s Luke Frazier drives against St. Ignatius on Dec. 29 at Garfield Heights.
Stircula. “That’s a really good team, with good scorers, and good shooters, and you can’t give them second and third looks. That’s ultimately what did us in.”
Davin Zeigler, the coach’s son, finished with a team-high 24 points. Busbee added 22, and Barba and Jashun Cobb chipped in 14 to give the Bengals four double-digit scorers. Benedictine will look to snap a three-game losing skid when it travels to Padua on Jan. 4.
Mentor, meanwhile, continues to impress. The Cardinals will travel to Brunswick on Jan. 4 to take on a Blue Devils team that was undefeated going into a holiday tournament in Reynoldsburg.
“(Benedictine) is so athletic, and so quick, they’re one of the most athletic teams in Ohio,” Krizancic said, “But I think we’re proving a lot of people (that doubted us) wrong.”
Lake Catholic 71, St. Ignatius 68
The game that preceded the Mentor-Benedictine thriller was nearly as good. Lake Catholic controlled its contest with St. Ignatius for three quarters, building up a 60-38 lead, only to watch the lead nearly evaporate in a furious fourthquarter Wildcats rally. In the final seconds, St. Ignatius missed three desperation three-point attempts
after an 8-0 run made it a one-possession game, and the Cougars held on to win, 71-68, and improve to 5-1 on the season.
Junior Luke Frazier was the game’s MVP, scoring 26 points, pulling down six rebounds, and adding four assists and three steals. Frazier dominated at times, displaying an array of slick moves in drives to the hoop, or alternately, stopping and popping jump shots in the lane.
Luka Eller scored 17 points, and added 11 rebounds for a double-double. Sean Fitzgerald scored 14 points, including four triples.
The Cougars opened up a 15-12 lead in the first quarter on a three-point shot by Eller, and took a 30-25 lead into halftime. They really poured it on in the third, tallying another 30 points to pull away seemingly for good, Frazier scored 13 of his points in that frame, connecting on every shot attempt he took.
“In this type of atmosphere, playing against a great program with rich history and tradition, ideally we could have put them away, but they did a great job of coming back,” Lake Catholic coach Matt Moran said. “It’s a great experience to learn from, and you’re able to walk away with a win. We have a lot of things that we have to work on-how to control the ball, time management. We had to figure out how to win the game at the end, and we got the stop that we needed.”
Lake Catholic received key contributions from Ryan Boruszkowski, Christian DeMitro, and Vinny Cremonese. But Frazier was the standout on this night.
“He’s just a special player,” Moran said of Frazier. “I’ve loved watching him grow each and every day since he’s been here at Lake. We kept getting the ball into his hands because he had a rhythm going and was making great decisions, and when you have a player like that, it’s fun to watch. I have the greatest seat in the house, getting to witness what he does every single day.”
St. Ignatius (3-3), which suffered its third consecutive loss, had three players in double figures, led by Lukas Bielek with 16 points. Kevin Davet added 12, and Chase Toppin contributed 10.
Lake Catholic will host Akron Hoban next on Jan.4.
Wadsworth 59, West Geauga 53
West Geauga held a 2723 halftime lead over Wadsworth, but was done in by a rough third quarter in which it was outscored, 206, to fall behind 43-33. The Wolverines rallied throughout the fourth quarter and climbed within 51-49 on a late three by Josh Irwin, but the Grizzlies salted the game away at the freethrow line.
West Geauga fell to 1-8, but has been dealing with inexperience and injury issues throughout its season thus far. Peyton Bissler made his return from injury and tallied 18 points, while Josh Irwin led the Wolverines with 22.
Wadsworth’s Jack Simmons was named the game’s MVP after scoring 28 points and leading the Grizzlies’ third-quarter rally.
“That was our biggest thing, to get off to a fast start,” West Geauga coach Jeff Javorek said, “We got off to a fast start, then we kind of lulled a little bit. In the second and third quarters, we scored eight and six points, then got it going again in the fourth. We’ve just got to work to put together four quarters, This was our first game with all of our guys back, after six games without our full team, so we’re still learning and still developing.”
West Geauga will travel to Beachwood on Jan. 4.