The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Sexton’s 29 help power Cavs past Pistons
Mentor improves to 7-0 with trip to Hudson coming up
Mentor was ready for visiting GCC rival Solon right from the opening tip on Jan. 27.
It was a good thing that they were, as it turned out.
The Cardinals, and senior Steven Key in particular, came out hot, scoring the first 10 points of the game on their way to a 24-7 lead at the end of one quarter.
But the Comets slowed the tempo and did a better job than most of Mentor’s opponents in avoiding turnovers. Mentor outscored Solon by one point over the latter three frames in a 71-53 victory.
Mentor stayed perfect at 7-0 with the victory. In a schedule change, instead of hosting Elyria on Jan. 29, the Cardinals will travel to Hudson.
Key, who connected on each of his first four shot attempts, fired in a game-high 28 points. The senior scored 12 of his points during the Cardinals’ big opening stanza.
“I was feeling good,” Key said of his big night. “It wasn’t an individual thing. I knew that my team needed me, so I wanted to come out and give it my all.”
Key sank three shots from outside the 3-point arc, to go along with frequent successful drives to the hoop. Defensively, he had a block, took a charge, and grabbed a pair of rebounds.
“Quickness, toughness, he’s shooting the ball better,” Mentor coach Bob Krizancic said regarding Key’s attributes. “He can get to the hole. That’s so huge for us when we have Jonah (Waag), Steven, and Luke (Chicone) that can all get to the hole. They are three of the best creators.”
Mentor’s lead reached 29-9 with 6:07 left in the second quarter when Waag drilled a 3 off an assist by Chicone.
Solon (6-4), which turned the ball over just six times, kept its composure, and chipped away at its deficit, slicing it to 36-22 at halftime.
Mentor’s lead expanded and contracted a few more times in the second half. It went up to 47-27 in the third quarter on Key’s third trey, then the Comets cut it to 51-41 before Mentor’s Sean Collins ended the frame with a triple.
Collins’ shot led off a 17-7 Mentor run that pushed its lead back up to 20 at 68-48 in the fourth quarter, and that prompted both teams to pull their starters for the final minutes.
“It was great getting out to the lead, we were up 20 early in the second quarter,” Krizancic said. “But we haven’t shot well all year. That’s the nice thing, that we’re 7-0, and there’s areas we definitely need to get better at.
“I thought we played hard, I thought they had to earn every shot. I thought defensively, giving up 53 was a really solid night. Solon is very well-coached, and they’re athletic. Before the season, we were really worried about this game and (the rematch on Feb. 2).”
Marcus Steele led Solon with 20 points, and Jimmie Williams added 15. The Comets shot 31 percent from the field (17 of 54) and converted 12 of 18 free throws.
“There were some stretches where I think we did good enough things to come out and feel like that’s a team we can play with,” Solon coach Tony DeCesare said. “But you can play with (Mentor) for 30 minutes and then you lose 10-0, 8-0 over two one-minute runs, then you’re still gonna lose by 20.
“They’re a team that you have to be dialed in for 32 minutes and possession by possession do the right things, because if you make a mistake they make you pay with a three.”
Waag scored 15 points and Chicone had 10 for Mentor. The Cardinals shot 45 percent (29 of 64) from the field, but just 2 of 5 from the line. Mentor was 11 of 34 from outside the arc and won the rebounding battle, 34-27, but Krizancic would like to see better and more consistent outside shooting and more boards at the offensive end.
“Offensive boards we haven’t done a good job on, and we haven’t shot well all year,” Krizancic said. “Those are blatant areas. If we get better on our weaknesses, it’s going to translate on the floor. I think we’re going to be 1520 points better if we shore up our weaknesses.”