The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Bees swarm, but Cardinals hang on
Mentor up to 10-0 with GCC victory; games with South, Lakewood on tap
When Mentor built a double-digit lead midway through the third quarter against visiting Medina on Feb. 4, things were beginning to look familiar for the Cardinals, who have made a habit of big second halves this season.
Mentor senior Steven Key was having another big night, and had scored 32 points in helping the Cardinals go ahead, 55-41 in the third. But Medina, which has been one the “big three” in the Greater Cleveland Conference along with Mentor and Solon all season, wasn’t about to go away quietly.
The Bees turned the tables on the Cardinals with a 11-1 run to draw within 56-52 at the end of the third quarter.
Medina kept pushing Mentor throughout the fourth quarter, and back-to-back and-1 layups by senior standout Corey Tripp brought the Bees all the way to within 7068 with 37 seconds left.
Jonah Waag drew a foul and hit both shots for Mentor, but Tripp scored again to make it 72-70.
Two Luke Chicone free throws put the Cardinals back up by four. On the ensuing possession, a player control foul on Medina gave the ball back to Mentor with 15 seconds to play.
Waag split a pair from the line, and after a steal by Steven Key, split another pair to help Mentor hold on to win, 76-70.
Although the Cardinals weren’t able to put the Bees away when they had them on the ropes, they ultimately were glad to get a win in a game where they had to battle possession by possession in the final minutes.
“It was great for us,” said Chicone, who had 13 points, four assists, and four steals. “We’re 10 games in, and I want to say only two of them have been close at the end, especially when they cut it to four in the fourth quarter.
“That’s huge for us. Of course we want to come in and dominate. But we know down the stretch in the playoffs we’re going end up seeing this again.”
Key, who added a late free throw to tie his career high with 33 points along with five steals, saw it the same as his teammate.
“I think this gets us prepared for the playoffs,” Key said regarding the close win. “Down the stretch there’s going to be a lot of games like that. It’s good to get used to playing in situations like that.
Waag finished with 20 points for Mentor, who remain unbeaten at 10-0. The Cardinals were 15 of 18 from the foul line in the fourth quarter, and 22 of 28 for the game.
“We made some mistakes, and we did some things that were uncharacteristic, but it was a good game to play in,” Mentor coach Bob Krizancic said. “It was one to two possessions (margin) down to the end of the game. So that was good for us.”
After the teams battled to a 20-20 stalemate in the first quarter, Mentor (6-0 GCC) fell behind, 30-27 in the second. A steal and runout layup by Key kicked off a 13-4 Cardinals run, and that along with eight turnovers forced allowed Mentor to take a 40-34 lead into halftime.
Key, who finished with six 3s, scored 13 points in the first half of the third quarter before Medina began to battle back.
The Bees converted 7 of 9 shot attempts in the third stanza, including 3 of 4 outside the arc, at the same time limiting the Cardinals’ offensive attack for the remainder of the quarter.
“We talked at halftime, and I thought the difference in the first half was that they were tougher,” Medina coach Chris Hassinger
said. “In the second half I thought we matched their toughness. (Mentor) has a lot of good players. You have to pick your poison with them.
“Luke Chicone is an unbelievable player. You try to soft-double (cover) him so he doesn’t get his 30 and kill you, but he garners so much attention that it gives other guys opportunities.”
Tripp led Medina (10-4, 4-2 GCC) with 26 points, Brandon Geschke added 18, and Christian Howard had 16. The Bees will face Akron Buchtel on Feb. 6.
Mentor shot 44 percent (23 of 52) and forced 19 turnovers. The Cardinals will host South on Feb. 5, then travel to Lakewood on Feb. 6.
Krizancic praised Medina, and emphasized how big it is to get a regular season sweep over the Bees.
“Tripp is that good,” Krizancic said of the Medina senior standout. “They’re well-coached, they play hard, they’re physical. This is a really good win. We’ve beaten them four times is a row, and those are probably four of our best wins. They are really good, and I look for them to make a deep run in the tournament.”