The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Chicone-led Mentor gains regional final
Junior scores 39 points; Cardinals to face Shaker Heights for state berth
Some people still aren’t sold on Luke Chicone.
Even after he committed to Youngstown State after his junior year, outsiders question if the 5-foot-9, 155-pound Mentor point guard is big enough — or good enough — to play for a Division I program.
But Chicone has his college future secure and after a 39-point, nine-rebound performance in a Cleveland regional semifinal against Medina, he has the Cardinals playing for a chance to move on to Columbus.
Chicone willed Mentor to a 76-72 double-overtime victory against the team that tied the Cardinals for the Greater Cleveland Conference title.
Chicone scored 26 of his 39 points in the second half and overtimes, stripped Medina’s Kyle Szumski on the Bees’ final possession, sank two free throws, then collapsed at midcourt in exhaustion and triumph.
“Honestly, I’m just tired right now,” Chicone said. “I need a good night’s rest. I just happened to make the plays, winning plays. That’s all I want to do. One more day with my brothers, that’s all I want.”
Coach Bob Krizancic told his team all week the game would be a war. The clash lasted eight more minutes than expected and Chicone emerged a hero, scoring 13 of Mentor’s 22 points in the extra periods.
Chad Rogers added 16 points for the Cardinals, who move on to a regional final against Shaker Heights on March 14.
After senior Luke Floriea fouled out in the fourth quarter, Chicone took command.
“We only had like two ballhandlers on the court and Chico really stepped up,” senior wing Caleb Piks said. “He didn’t turn it over,
didn’t do anything stupid with the ball, knocked down his free throws, everything he had to do to win that game.”
Next to Chicone, Mentor’s supporting cast provided major contributions. Piks and Kyle Culler provided quality defense against Medina’s backcourt tandem of Kyle Szumski and Corey Tripp.
Down the stretch, junior Cael Gray took care of the ball when he replaced Floriea and Culler knocked down two clutch foul shots in the second overtime.
“Just because I had 39 doesn’t mean I played the best,” Chicone said. “I think other guys played better than me. Kyle made winning plays, he defended their best player the whole game. That’s the hardest
test there is.”
Despite his modesty, Chicone is the primary reason Mentor’s season continued.
Performances like his game against Medina are what Krizancic expects.
“I told him last year, I said, ‘Listen, I’m going to be on you because I think you’re the best guard in the state of Ohio,’” Krizancic said. “You know, you’ve got to do everything right. You cannot have a weakness and he relishes that, he understands that better than everything and he’s a captain.”
Szumski led Medina with 29 and Tripp had 24.
Medina coach Chris Hassinger pointed to the game as proof the two teams are among Ohio’s best, a contest swung by Chicone’s
play.
“He’s so good,” Hassinger said. “He is definitely one of the best guards in Ohio. He does so much with what he has, and he’s so athletic. He doesn’t pass the eye test when you look at him but, man, he is dynamic.”
Really, to Chicone and the Cardinals, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. Krizancic says the junior plays like he’s 6-foot3, and ranks him among the best guards to play at Mentor.
This year, Chicone and his friends play at least one more game.
“I’m not playing for anybody,” Chicone said. “I just play for Mentor across my chest and my teammates. Tonight, I played well, but I just wanted to win.”