by MENTOR, Ohio- After losing 60-52 to Mentor last year, senior guard Luke Frazier had that thought stay in his mind Friday night. Once the final buzzer rang, he enjoyed the celebration on the floor with his team and student section.
“We just wanted it so bad,” Frazier said. “We just wanted to come out here and do our best…We just have so much more confidence in ourselves”
After taking control of the game throughout the fourth quarter, Lake Catholic was able to finish the season with a 16-6 record after its 66-56 win over Mentor Friday night.
FINAL: @LCHS_Cougars defeats Mentor 66-56 @KeeOnSports pic.twitter.com/cDQ7zbvwbP
— Michael Trivisonno (@Mike_Triv) February 23, 2020
Luke Frazier and Luka Eller both finished the night with a double-double, with Eller ending the night with a team-high 26 points and 12 rebounds along with Frazier’s 24 points and 10 rebounds. The other star of the night was junior Joe Malchesky.
The 6-foot-1 guard contributed with 8 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Malchesky was very adept at using his speed and aggressiveness to grab all the loose rebounds he can, no matter if it was on the offensive or defensive side of the ball. That included three offensive rebounds late in the fourth quarter for second-chance opportunities that eventually led to Lake Catholic pulling off the upset.
“Our whole team takes pride in our hustle and rebounding,” he explained. “That kind of separates us from other teams and we left it all on the floor tonight.”
“MVP Joe, that game ball goes to him,” Frazier added. “He worked so hard.”
From the opening tipoff, Lake Catholic was able to stay ahead from the Cardinals, eventually taking a 29-24 lead heading into halftime behind Eller’s game-high 14 points in the first half.
From there, the Cougars never trailed. Mentor was able to keep it within five points most of the third quarter as Lake Catholic held a four-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
A 3-pointer from Mentor guard Luke Floriea got the Cardinals within seven, 58-51 with just over three minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Two minutes later, Mentor got within five points, 61-56 following a Chad Rogers 3-pointer. That would be as close as the Cardinals would get in the fourth quarter as the team was unable to stop the electric offense featuring Frazier, Eller and Malchesky leading the way for Lake Catholic.
For Mentor, the loss is just the second one in the last 14 games, finishing the regular season with a 16-6 final record. Floriea paced the offense with a team-high 23 points. Rogers added 11 points, including three 3-pointers. Luke Chicone and Andrew Witte rounded out the scoring with eight points each.
For the Cougars, head coach Matt Moran feels like his team is hitting the right stride as tournament play begins next week he said. With the playoff-like atmosphere on full hand Friday night, stars aligned for Moran and his resolute team.
“When you’re able to just compete against a team like Mentor, let along be able to win, it gives us great confidence going into the tournament.”
Great article!
Very good artical.
Good to see sportsmanship amongst friends who grew up together. Nice article.