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COPLEY, Ohio– St. Edward senior guard Michael Bova accomplished two things Thursday night. He ended up scoring his 1,000th career point along with willing his team to a 69-60 come-from-behind win against Mentor, sending his team to the regional championship Saturday afternoon.
FINAL: St. Edward defeats Mentor 69-60, advancing to the regional final Saturday against Hoban. @SEHS_BASKETBALL @SportsKee1 @michael_bova_1 pic.twitter.com/DMoWKWAvVa
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) March 11, 2022
“It’s an amazing feeling, “Bova said. “Honestly I didn’t know how close I was (to scoring 1,000 points) and honestly, I didn’t really care either…I’m just so proud of these guys and the way that we finished.”
St. Edward was forced to play catch-up from the opening tip. Once the Eagles started to apply full-court pressure throughout the second half, that’s when the momentum swiftly started to turn and favor Eric Flannery and his team.
Trailing for the first three quarters, St. Edward was able to take their first lead of the game following a Zyion Freer-Brown layup. He went on a personal 6-0 run closing out the third quarter and starting the fourth quarter to put the Eagles ahead 48-47.
“We knew in the first three minutes coming out of the second half were critical,” Zyion said. “We got up in them, pressured the ball a lot. Kudos to guys like Jair, Danny and Cam for making plays for us all game long.”
@Zyionbrown0 on a personal 6-0 run and he gives the Eagles their first lead of the game—48-47– 7 mins left in the 4th Q. @SportsKee1 pic.twitter.com/Rh7tHKrAf1
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) March 11, 2022
“The adjustment was we started putting the ball in the basket,” Flannery said on the fourth-quarter scoring runs. “So we were able to set up full-court pressure, we were able to speed up the game…Mentor is Mentor, they do what they do and it’s hard to stop.
We just felt like if we can start making some baskets and changing the momentum that way, we have a chance,” Flannery added. “When you take a lead in an emotional game like this especially late, it’s hard to come back.”
From there, St. Edward controlled the pace of play, something they struggled to do during the first three quarters. Michael Bova continued to shine and get to the rim along with marquee turnovers that led to transition points the other way.
St. Edward was able to push their lead to 61-54 with two minutes left following a pair of Brown free throws. Mentor started to claw back with a couple of threes from Ian Ioppolo, but not enough stops and too many free throws were too much to overcome in the end.
The Eagles connected on 14-of-17 free throws during the win, with 11-of them coming in the fourth quarter.
For the game, Bova finished with a game-high 28 points to pace the Eagles. Zyion Freer-Brown added 13 points along with nine from Cam Grant to lead the Eagles Thursday night.
@michael_bova_1 up to 22 points as St. Eds leads 53-49. pic.twitter.com/ILQ8BjR9zV
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) March 11, 2022
“I said it and I’ll say it again, as far as my years coaching at St. Ed’s, he’s one of, if not the best player I’ve ever coached with the ball in his hands,” Flannery said about Bova. “Just getting to the rim and being able to finish and score in different ways. Are there other things he needs to improve on? Sure, but with the ball in his hands, he’s pretty dynamic.”
For Mentor, Ian Ioppolo finished with a team-high 17 points. Sean Collins added 16 points along with 13 from Matthew Biddell.
To say St. Edward struggled shooting the ball to start the game is an understatement. They made just two of their first 16 shots from the field and had just three points after the first quarter.
Michael Bova started to heat up closing out the first half. With the Cardinal lead getting as high as 16 points in the second quarter, Bova took matters into his own hands to stop the bleeding as Mentor took a 32-25 lead at the break.
Mentor head coach Bob Krizancic doesn’t go very deep on the bench. He only plays about six, maybe seven players and the Eagle pressure late in the second half ultimately got to the Cardinals and there was no answer in the end.
“We always talk about getting to state, I never want to rebuild. One of our things is we never rebuild, we reload,” Coach Krizancic said. “We had to play 32 minutes and their pressure was a big concern and I thought that was the difference in the game.”
As for St. Edward, they’re one of eight Division I teams left in the tournament. Their next test is a Saturday afternoon matchup against Hoban.
“I think I held my breath for four quarters tonight,” Flannery said. “It’s a battle but here we are, and we got a quick turnaround.”
Great story!!