The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Mentor posts 30 in fourth at Euclid
Andrew Witte (pictured) and Mentor post a 30-point fourth quarter to stave off an improving young Euclid squad in Greater Cleveland Conference action. Jay Kron was on the scene and has a recap.
For the second consecutive Tuesday, Mentor had a tough first half against a young but fast-improving Euclid squad Feb. 4 in a game rescheduled from December.
The Cardinals and host Panthers were deadlocked at 25-25 at the half, and Mentor led by just 46-44 with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The Cardinals took con- trol at that point when Luke Floriea nailed an open 3-pointer on an assist from Andrew Witte, then stole the ball and passed to Luke Chicone for another triple.
That pair of 3s kicked off a 13-4 run that made it 59-48, and Mentor ended up scoring 30 points in the fourth quarter en route to a 71-59 win.
The Cardinals are now 11-5 overall and move into a second-place tie in the Greater Cleveland Conference with Medina at 8-2, after their eighth win in their last nine games.
Chicone led Mentor with 21 points and three steals. Chad Rogers added 18 points and eight rebounds, and Floriea tallied 17 points and six assists.
The loss overshadowed a superb offensive night for Euclid junior Steven Key, who scored a game-high 31 points, 19 in the second half.
Whenever Mentor is having the type of tough offensive night it had against the Panthers (9 of 29 from the field), Coach Bob Krizancic and the Cardinals know a five-letter word that usually spells a remedy for their troubles.
“Tempo is huge for us,” Krizancic said. “In the first half, 25-25, we couldn’t hit some shots. I think (Euclid is) very athletic, Steven Key does a great job. In the second half, we were able, with the press, to get the tempo a little more in our favor.
“I think we made only three of our first 22 3s, then we made a couple in a row. Then we got the lead and kept it, and that’s what we have to do.”
Mentor led, 18-11, after one frame, but Key, who attacked the rim with abandon and sprinkled in a few jumpers, scored on three straight possessions. The Panthers closed the half on an 8-2 run, including a pair of Clayton Cunningham 3s, to knot the game at 25-25 going into the break.
Euclid (7-10, 4-6 GCC) took its second, and final, lead of the game in the third quarter at 29-27 on a basket by Key. Chicone responded with a pair of free throws and a drive to the hoop to give the Cardinals the lead for good, 31-29.
“They’re a young team. They’ve definitely got some pieces,” Chicone said of Euclid. “We knew we had to keep them out of the paint. They’ve got a couple shooters, but no one that’s going to really kill us from the 3-point line, so as long as we (kept them from the paint), we knew we’d get the ‘W’.”
Key’s scoring outburst enabled Euclid to go into the fourth quarter down just 41-37 and to draw within two in the final stanza. He drilled a trey for his final points of the night.
“Steve’s been great for us all year,” Euclid coach John Kane said. “He had 33 against Glenville, and I think he had 31 tonight. He’s been in the 20s a couple times, so he’s definitely a guy we rely on to score for us.”
Chicone, who was 10 of 13 from the foul line, agreed with his coach that increasing tempo was the key to the win.
“Shots weren’t falling (in the first half),” Chicone said. “Coming into the third quarter, we had to come out and play with all we had. Once we did that we got our run going.”
Cunningham scored nine points for Euclid, and Marquis Lewis added eight. Lewis and a Michael Patterson grabbed 10 of the Panthers’ 28 rebounds. Euclid travels to Brunswick on Feb. 7.
“It’s disappointing,” Kane said. “The (final margin) was a little bit more this week, but I actually thought we played better tonight (than in the previous meeting with Mentor) and gave ourselves more of a chance to win. We told these guys just now: We’ve said ‘young and inexperienced’ all year, but sooner or later ‘young and inexperienced’ isn’t an excuse anymore.”
Mentor will be on the road at Elyria on Feb. 7. Krizancic noted the Cardinals have played just five home games so far all season, but will finish with four of their last five at home. Mentor is 28-1 in its last 29 home games.
“Great win, and I think we needed it to solidify the 1 seed,” Krizancic said of this weekend’s postseason draw. “This makes us eight of nine (wins) and (second place) in the league. Not that I want to win the league, but I want to play these games (like tonight) that have a tournamenttype atmosphere.”