The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Red-hot third lifts Cards
Imitation, they say, is the sincerest form of flattery.
Prior to his team’s Greater Cleveland Conference game against visiting Brunswick on Jan. 22, Mentor boys basketball coach Bob Krizancic showed his team the game film of the Cardinals’ 2013 state championship victory over Toledo Rogers, in which Mentor used a sizzling thirdquarter shooting performance en route to the state crown.
A few hours later, the 2021 Cardinals used a similar type of blitz.
Mentor made 14 of 20 shots in the third quarter — and 24 of 34 in the second half — to blister Brunswick, 90-72.
“It was interesting watching the state championship third quarter (a 29-8 Mentor advantage) and then 30-11 in the third quarter tonight,” Krizancic said. “There are some analogies to that.”
Mentor (5-0, 3-0 GCC) entered this week coming off a nine-day layoff. The Cardinals had practice days Tuesday and Thursday, sandwiched around a game against Elyria on Jan. 20.
But there were certainly no signs of rust on the Cardinals game on this night.
After taking a 39-38 lead into the locker room at halftime, the went on a 13-2 run to start the third quarter. Luke Chicone started the run with an and-one and a 3-pointer, followed by a Cael Gray 3-ball.
Brunswick (8-4) stopped that 8-0 run with a bucket, but then Jonah Waag and Steven Key hit back-toback hoops to make it a 5140 game.
Brunswick struggled to keep the margin at single digits for the rest of the game.
“I’ve been saying it for a while — I think we’re a second-half team,” said Chicone, who had a team-high 23 points. “I knew we had to come out with energy and effort, and to make plays.”
Key was a — well — key to that effort. He went on a second-quarter run in which he scored 10 straight for his team. Then in the third, he scored six straight for his team to open a 5545 lead.
A Waag drive, a Chicone drive and a coast-to-coaster by Chicone opened a 61-45 gorge in a third quarter that at times looked like a layup drill for the home team.
“We just gave them the ball and they turned it into layups,” Blue Devils coach Joe Mackey said. “That’s what good teams do. I thought we did a good job of taking care of the ball and valuing it. The second half not so much.
“That’s the story of the game. It’s hard to beat Mentor to begin with. They’ve been so good over the years. Our recipe for success has to been to attack their pressure. Tonight, we gave it to them in the second half. It started with that (13-2) run in the second half. We took a couple of questionable shots. You can’t turn the ball over on the road. It’s a recipe for disaster and that’s what happened.”
Krizancic pointed to two bit statistics that fueled his team — seven turnovers for Mentor vs. 22 for Brunswick, and 25 deflections by the Cardinals’ defense that not only disrupted the Blue Devils’ offense, but often resulted in runouts.
“If we play hard and smart, I think we’re as any team in the state of Ohio,” Krizancic said.
Mentor’s biggest lead was 21, achieved on a Chicone drive midway through the fourth. The Cardinals cleared the bench the final three-plus minutes of the game.
Brunswick was led by senior Tre Massey’s 35 points, including five 3-pointers. His deep 3-pointer in the second quarter gave him a Medina County record 226 triples.
“We’ve played Lebron, we’ve played (John) Hugley,” Krizancic said. “That’s one of the best shooting performances I’ve seen in a long, long time. I thought we contested him almost every shot. He didn’t get good looks. He earned it.”
Aside Chicone’s 23 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and four steals, the Cardinals got big nights from Key (22 points, 4 steals) and Waag (17 points). Mentor played without senior Kyle Culler, who was on crutches during Senior Night festivities and will miss two to three weeks, according to Krizancic.
Said Key of his big night, “The past couple of games I’ve been in a shooting slump. Tonight I had to do it for my brother because it was his birthday.”
Mentor is back in action on Jan. 23, with Benedictine coming to town for a non-conference game.
As impressive as the second half was, Krizancic said his Cardinals are capable of better — which could be a scary proposition for anyone left on the Mentor schedule.
“Give us another threeto-five games,” he said, “and I think you’re gonna see a little better team than what we have right now.”