High school boys basketball tournament capsules

bhercik@news-herald.com

(3) LAKE CATHOLIC VS. (6) CARDINAL MOONEY Division III district

What: final

When: 7 p.m., March 2

Where: Salem, 799 N. Lincoln Ave,

Records: Lake Catholic 169, Cardinal Mooney 15-10

Lake Catholic’s path: Defeated Mineral Ridge, 7964, def. Champion, 64-39, def. Kirtland, 59-54

Cardinal Mooney’s path: Defeated Lakeview, 51-39, def. Rootstown, 63-29, def. Chagrin Falls, 48-47

Up next: Winner advances to play the winner of Lutheran East and South Range in a D-III regional semifinal on March 8 at 8 p.m. at Canton McKinley

For the record: Two teams that battled back in their semifinals now meet with a regional ticket on the line. Lake Catholic started slowly against Kirtland with the Cougars down at the half. It took an early run and a 30-point performance from Aidan Fitzgerald to get to the district final. The Cougars will need to see Peyton Budrys-Rini get back to his scoring ways to provide some support. Lake Catholic will have the size advantage on the inside with the duo of Dylan Wimbs and Cross Nimmo as well as Robert Russell if needed on the inside. … Cardinal Mooney had to survive a furious comeback attempt by Chagrin Falls as it came down to Ashton O’Brown making a free throw and intentionally missing the next but rebounding his own miss to seal their win over Chagrin Falls. Mooney presents a challenging defense in the half court with strong pressure that forced 13 Tigers turnovers. The Cardinals also feature a nice mix of scoring with Rocco Turner and Jaxon Menough. The Cougars also feature a solid defense in the half court and will push the Cardinals to find ways into the paint.

Lake Catholic mark.

Hercik’s pick: Cornerstone

(2) PERRY VS. (4) BEACHWOOD

What: Division III district final

When: 7 p.m., March 2

Where: Niles McKinley, 616 Dragon Drive, Niles

Records: Perry 19-4, Beachwood 16-8

Perry’s path: Defeated East Palestine, 50-10, def. Waterloo, 72-42

Beachwood’s path: Defeated Garrettsville Garfield, 83-56, def. Pymatuning Valley, 74-65

Up next: Winner advances to play the winner of Smithville and Cuyahoga Heights in a D-III regional final on March 8 at 6:00 p.m. at Canton McKinley

For the record: These two met a little over a month ago and Beachwood won by five points. If Perry hopes to flip the script, they will need to have guards Jake Cubbison and Brayden Richards going early. It was their tempo that was a deciding factor against Waterloo. Richards ran the point for the Pirates as well as his 20-point showing. Cubbison added 14 and the strong guard play didn’t stop there as Datone Washington came off the bench with 16. But it’s the Pirates’ defense that Beachwood will need to account for. Against the Vikings, Perry controlled the pace on both ends of the floor. … One thing that the Bison have that Perry lacks is height inside. They can match the scoring with the ability of Nathan Lurie with the ball in his hands and anywhere on the floor, as well as the ball handling with either Lurie or Josh Jones. But Noah Page will need to be a key factor in the post for Beachwood. If the Bison want to repeat their earlier success, they will need Page to make the paint his own. The Bison saw their big three come up big in the final stretch against Pymatuning Valley and will need them again as both teams vie for their first district title in roughy a decade.