The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Mayfield sets up WRC title showdown at Riverside
Just be a dawg. That’s the motto for Mayfield senior Kyle Irwin and his Wildcat teammates.
The ‘Cats were dawgs Feb. 14 from the middle of the third quarter forward, and as a result turned a tight game into a runaway in a 81-55 senior night victory over visiting WRC foe Chardon.
The Hilltoppers tied the game at 39-39 midway through the third quarter on an Ethan Faber bucket off an assist by Kyle Palovich.
But Mayfield senior Johnny Martinich buried a 3 on the Wildcats’ next trip down the floor, and that shot seemed to trigger an avalanche.
Mayfield got hot, Chardon got cold, and after the smoke cleared from a 29-4 run by the Wildcats, Mayfield (13-8, 9-2) held an insurmountable 68-43 lead a few minutes into the fourth quarter.
The victory sets up a WRC showdown on Feb. 17 at Riverside. The Beavers improved to 17-3 overall, 10-1 in the WRC with an 8051 win over Madison. Riverside
will win an outright WRC championship with a win over Mayfield.
The Wildcats can force a share of the title if they can beat the Beavers for the second time this season. A share of the championship would be a repeat for Mayfield, which shared the WRC title with Kenston last season.
Irwin, who will play for John Carroll next season, had a double-double of 20 points and 15 rebounds in his final game on his home floor.
“Coming off the losses to North and South, we were in a hole,” Irwin said. “We beat Madison and Kenston, and we’re so close to getting out of that hole.
“We go to Riverside on Friday, and we have a chance to share the conference title. I just want my team to be dawgs. They played their heart out tonight, especially the seniors. It was our last game (on this floor), very emotional.”
Mayfield seniors Perry Atkins (14 points) and Martinich (11), along with junior Tre Spicer (12), also finished in double digits for Mayfield.
‘“Coach called a time out, and we came together as a team,” Atkins said of the game’s turning point. “Then we came out and took the win.”
A 12-2 Mayfield run fueled by the Wildcats’ board dominance (44-29 for the game), allowed Mayfield to take a 20-12 lead after one frame.
Chardon got to within 3329 at halftime, and fought to a 39-39 tie with 4:25 left in the third, by picking up its rebounding efforts and displaying some slick passing that led to several inside baskets.
But after Martinich’s triple, it seemed the Wildcats couldn’t miss, and Hilltoppers couldn’t put the ball in the bucket, and things just snowballed.
Mayfield finished 10 of 24 outside the arc, and hit four of those during the 29-4 run. Six different Wildcats sank at last one trey, led by Martinich’s 3.
Chardon, conversely, went 1 for 21 outside the arc. Faber (16 points), Dylan Fletcher (13) and Noah Gerlica (10) led the Hilltoppers.
“It was two things,” Chardon coach Chad Murawski said. “One, they got redhot shooting and we got ice
cold.
“We have to find a way when we’re not hitting shots to dig ourselves out of a hole, and we didn’t do that tonight.”
Atkins had six assists and two steals for Mayfield, and Spicer grabbed six rebounds.
“The floodgates kind of
opened after Johnny hit that shot,” Mayfield coach Will Brand said. “Then we called a timeout because we had stressed at halftime how important it is to get stops. In the first two or three possessions (after halftime) they came down and got layups on us, so we had to address the defense.
“For us, whenever we play really good defense, shots tend to fall, because you’re in a rhythm.”
Since Chardon was struggling from outside, and doing all its scoring in the paint, Mayfield switched to a 3-2 zone in the second half, and that helped to limit the Hilltoppers to one shot attempt.
Chardon and Mayfield will meet for a third time, this time in the Division I tournament, and this time at Chardon, on Feb. 22. But first, the Wildcats are hoping to bring a share of the WRC title into the postseason with them.
“If I’m not mistaken, I’m sure it will probably be their senior night,” Brand said of Riverside. “They’re going to have a lot of emotions. They’re going to be ready to go. They know what’s at stake, and we know what’s at stake.
“It’s the last game of the season before we both go into tournament play. You really want to be playing your best basketball at this point in the season. I don’t know who scheduled this at the end of the season, but they did a good job of making sure all the drama would be there with it.”