The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Mentor tops Riverside, improves to 15-0
Mentor coach Bob Krizancic believes that the Cardinals still aren’t shooting as well as they’re capable.
When they finally do, reaching and surpassing triple digits might not be enough of a goal.
Mentor connected on just 9 of 34 shots outside the 3-point arc (26 percent) on Feb. 12 at Riverside, and was just 4 of 9 from the free throw line (44 percent).
The Cardinals still surpassed 90 points for the fifth straight game, and sixth in the last seven, in a 93-49 victory.
Mentor (15-0) wore down the Beavers with pressure defense, transition scoring, and a 42-23 rebounding advantage.
Luke Chicone (26 points, five rebounds, four steals), Jonah Waag (22 points, 10 rebounds, three steals), and Steven Key (19 points, seven rebounds, three assists) led the way for the Cardinals, as they have all season long.
“I thought the key was playing together as a team and beating the zone,” Waag said. “We had to get the ball inside and we had to finish strong. Our press hasn’t been the best in the last few weeks, so we really had to focus on the press and I think we did a good job of that.”
Waag won’t get any argument from Riverside (11-6), a team that likes to apply pressure itself.
The Beavers were able to handle Mentor’s press in the early going, and were able to convert some transition layups and outside shots to stay in range, trailing, 24-17, after the first quarter.
Mentor took firm control in the second quarter, as Chicone, who sank six of the Cardinals’ nine 3s, dropped in 14 points during that stanza. Meanwhile, turnovers were beginning to mount for Riverside, and Mentor built up a sizable rebounding edge of 23-9 while extending its lead to 47-30 at halftime.
Waag and Key picked up the scoring load after halftime, and the Cardinals put up another strong third quarter, scoring 30 points to push their lead to 77-43.
“Transition and defense,” Key cited as strong points for Mentor in the win. “We score on the break. When we’re able to apply pressure to teams, and force turnovers, that’s when we’re at our best. It allows us to
run up and down the court, and most teams are gassed when they’re playing us.”
Although certainly pleased with the win, and grateful that Riverside was willing to play after both teams had to make schedule changes, Krizancic still would like to see more consistency from his team, especially in regards
to shooting.
“We played hard when we had to, but we’re still looking for consistency,” Krizancic said. “Shooting was still (not good), and it sounds crazy, but I’m kind of glad. We shot 9 of 34 (from 3), and we’ve been a consistently poor-shooting team the last few weeks. So if that improves, that will
just enhance our game.”
Thirteen players played for the Cardinals, and twelve scored at least once. Mentor shot 51 percent from the field (40 of 79), but that included 31 of 45 on two-point baskets.
Senior Caden Geiger led Riverside with 10 points. Charlie Fox, Andrew Taggart, and Brett Fulton chipped in eight points each. The Beavers saw the matchup with Ohio’s No.2ranked Division I team as a valuable learning experience with the postseason rapidly approaching.
“I’m glad we were able to schedule this game,” Riverside coach Matt Grendel said. “At the end of the day, we want to give our kids the best experience possible, and play as many games as possible, no matter who we’re playing.
“This was a great experience for us, it showed us the things that we need to work on and get better at. I was proud of the way we competed at the beginning of the game, but once we started turning the ball over, Mentor capitalized. It was a single-digit game, then it ballooned pretty quick.”