The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Cards win in a rout
On paper, it appeared a mismatch would be in store when visiting Mentor, one of Northeast Ohio’s top programs, visited neighboring North, a young team still searching for its first win, in a nonconference matchup Jan. 21.
That projection became a reality when the Cardinals, seasoned by brutal contests in the GCC, overwhelmed the Rangers with pressure that led to turnovers and easy baskets and left North’s new gym with a 101-50 victory, their third straight.
Six Cardinals, all seniors, scored in double figures, led by Caleb Piks with 15. Chad Rogers added 12. Luke Floriea, Noah Corwin and Lee Farkas scored 11 points each, and Cam Miller contributed 10.
“We had a tough week in practice, we had to get our feet back under us and set the mentality for the upcoming weeks, as Coach said,” Piks stated after the game. “We have Brunswick away on Friday, and we have a really tough week next week.”
One of the tenets of Mentor’s program is to never rebuild, and in that light, the Cardinals took the opportunity to find playing time for everyone on the bench, once their lead was insurmountable.
Sixteen players saw the floor for Mentor, and 15 of them scored at least a point.
“It’s great when you can get them 8, 10, 12 minutes,” Mentor coach Bob Krizancic said of his reserves. “I like the way they ran the floor. We never like to rebuild. So we’ve got to start really developing over the next five to six weeks. Hopefully that’s why you like extending the tournament, because each week of practice you get for your young players bodes well for the next season.”
North junior Jason Reik opened up the scoring with a 3-pointer, which Piks answered quickly for Mentor. Floriea and Andrew Witte scored off steals, and the Cardinals were off and running to a 30-15 lead after one quarter.
Reik kept the hot hand for the Rangers in the opening stanza, going 5-for-5 outside the 3-point arc to score all 15 of North’s points. He added a free throw in the second half to give him a game-high 16 points.
Mentor (7-4) exploded for 37 points in the second quarter, keeping smothering pressure on the young Rangers and piling up points quickly. Floriea, Rogers and Luke Chicone combined for 19 points in the frame, and the Cardinals took a 67-24 lead into halftime.
“Jason, in the first quarter, really kind of ignited us,” North coach Rob Koelling said. “He was ready from the tip. At the same time, you give up 67 points in one half, your defense has to be much better. Your onball defense, you’ve got to be able to contain guys and lock guys up.”
Corwin led Mentor with seven points in the second half. The Cardinals extended their lead to 83-35 after the third quarter and reached triple digits on a putback by junior John Sierputowski with less than two minutes to play.