Hercik’s pick: (1) RICHMOND HEIGHTS VS. (5) MOGADORE

Hercik’s pick: (3) CORNERSTONE VS. (6) BADGER

What: Division IV district final

When: Where:

7 p.m., March 2 Grand Valley, 111 Grand Valley Ave West, Orwell

Records:

Cornerstone 21-4, Badger 20-5

Cornerstone’s path:

Defeated Youngstown Academy, 81-35, def. Bloomfield, 81-15, def. Maplewood, 78-28

Badger’s path:

Defeated Fairport, 72-59, def. NM Springfield, 41-38, def. Mathews, 54-37.

Up next: Winner advances to play the winner of Richmond Heights and Mogadore in a D-IV regional semifinal on March 7 at 8 p.m. at Canton McKinley.

For the record:

In its district semifinal, Cornerstone turned to its size on the inside and controlled the glass en route to a second straight district final. The duo of Deshaun Vaden and DJ Niles combined for 19 boards. The Patriots’ Quinn Kwasniak led the way as usual with 20 points. Jeremiah Hendrix stepped into a secondary scoring option with Carter Armstrong out due to injury as he added 15. Niles and Vaden were also in double figures against the Rockets. With the offense rolling like that, it was smooth sailing for the Patriots. … Badger started its season with a 10-game win streak before a onepoint loss to Pymatuning Valley. Before their second loss to the Lakers, all of the Braves’ losses were by one possession. Badger has also seen close games go their way as four one-possession games have gone their way. The Braves average 63.8 points per game and are led by Duncan Moy who had 20 points against Mathews in their district semifinal. The Braves’ defense has been solid all season as well as they have held teams to 47.7 points and only three teams have eclipsed the 60-point

What:

final

Division IV district

When: Where:

Beachwood

March 2, 7 p.m. Norton, One Panther Way

Records: Richmond Heights, 24-0, Mogadore, 20-4

Richmond Heights path:

Defeated Lake Ridge, 10622, def. Open Door, 92-55

Mogadore’s path: Defeated Leetonia, 58-10, def. Oberlin, 59-48, def. Southern, 66-61

Up next: Winner advances to play the winner of Cornerstone and Badger in a D-IV regional semifinal on March 7 at 8 p.m. at Canton McKinley.

For the record: Richmond Heights’ offense is clicking on all cylinders. Against Open Door, they turned to their bench for significant scoring in a move they didn’t do much during the regular season. Dorian Jones led the way with 21 points while four others finished with double figures. With the offense rolling like that, it’s perfect for De’Erick Barber to run the point. His 8.8 assists per game led the coverage area and with that distribution against Open Door, it is the ideal situation for a point guard. … Mogadore comes in with a strong offense as well, as the Wildcats average 64 points per game, which includes nine times they’ve eclipsed the 70-point mark. The Wildcats also snapped a threegame skid late in the season and started the seven-game win streak they are on now. But if the Wildcats want to make it an eighth win and stun the Spartans, not only will they need their offense clicking but their defense as well as Mogadore has held opponents to 49.7 points. It’s a much easier challenge said than done.

Hercik’s pick: Richmond Heights