Mentor runs past Mayfield, into district semifinal

Tempo was the name of the game in a Division I sectional final at Euclid between No. 1 seed Mentor and No. 9 seed Mayfield. Mentor prefers to play at a fast pace, Mayfield prefers to keep things slower.

Mentor coach Bob Krizancic exhorted his players to keep up the pace at every opportunity, and not to pass up any open looks for shots. The Cardinals’ preferred style prevailed, and they never trailed and ran away with a 74-39 victory, playing the fourth quarter with a running clock and JV players finishing out the game.

Luke Floriea led all players with 22 points, including five 3s. Chad Rogers added 15 points, and Alex Edwards chipped in 11.

The Cardinals led, 2310 after the first quarter, and extended their lead to 44-21 at halftime. Late in the third quarter, Floriea penetrated the lane and kicked out to an open Luke Chicone, who drilled a 3-pointer which gave Mentor a 68-33 lead. That 35-point cushion triggered

the running clock and allowed the starters to watch the rest of the game from the bench.

“I thought we did a good job of not playing at their tempo,” Floriea said. “They wanted to slow it down and keep the scoring in the 50s and 60s, but we wanted to push the tempo and try to get it into the 70s and that’s what we did.”

Neshawn Brown led Mayfield with seven points, and Michael Favazzo and

Hayden Nahra added six apiece. The Wildcats, who will lose four graduating seniors, knocked off Riverside to avenge two regularseason losses and advance to the sectional final.

“We can’t play at that tempo,” Mayfield coach Bob Pacsi said. “They’re just so good, they shoot 3s real well, and they have three or four guys that play inside and use their body, and we just can’t play like that. They got us in that

mode, and that’s the inexperience we have. We can’t run up and down the court. I’m disappointed that we didn’t have our ‘A’ game so we could compete a little bit longer than we did.”

Mentor will move on to play rival Solon in a district semifinal on March 6 at Euclid. The Cardinals beat the Comets twice this season, winning 81-61, on Dec.21 at home, and 83-68 on Feb.1 at Solon.