by MENTOR, Ohio- Mentor head coach Bob Krizancic asked junior point guard Luke Chicone earlier in the week how it was being the only non-senior captain. Chicone replied that he just wants his teammates to respect him as the Cardinals are focused to turn around their season.
He certainly earned the team’s respect Friday night has him and Chad Rogers each scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Cardinals past Shaker Heights, 79-70 in a Greater Cleveland Conference showdown.
Coach Krizancic went on to explain that Friday night’s performance, both on offense and defense, was one of the best games the Youngstown State commit has played in his career thus far.
As for senior point guard Luke Floriea, he believes the win Friday night will help the team move forward through the new year.
“We got a lot of confidence now,” Floriea said. “We were really struggling on defense and shooting. This game really motivated us to keep working and playing hard.”
Throughout the first half, both teams traded baskets and no lead was ever safe it felt like. Mentor was able to get out to a 29-22 lead midway through the second quarter, but the Raiders were able to end the quarter on an 11-3 run to head into halftime with a 33-32 lead.
Mentor’s stout defense was in full effect to start the second half, forcing Shaker to turnovers leading to easy transition baskets the other way. That resulted in a 26-point third quarter for Mentor and they swiftly found themselves heading into the final quarter with a 59-52 lead.
“I liked the physicalness tonight and I liked the effort,” coach Krizancic said. “I thought defensively, they had to work for their shots and we got some really good shots. We got some cheap buckets and we were able to get to the free throw line a decent amount tonight.”
Danny Young Jr. helped keep Shakers’ hopes alive throughout the fourth quarter. He poured in a team-high six points in the final eight minutes and helped the Raiders get within two points, 65-63 following an and-one layup with four minutes left in the quarter.
The comeback fell short as Mentor was able to get six different players to score throughout the fourth quarter. Cael Gray, Caleb Piks and Andrew Witte combined for seven points and a handful of defensive stops late down the stretch to secure the win for the Cardinals.
Senior Luke Floriea finished the game with 19 points as him, Chicone and Rogers combined for 67 of the team’s 79 points Friday night.
For the Raiders, Danny Young Jr. led the team with 19 points. Senior guard Shammah Scott and Dakota Cochran rounded out the scoring with 17 and 16 points, respectively as the Raiders fell to 8-2.
The win for Mentor lifts them above .500 again after losing three of the last four games. The conference win Friday night was a crucial victory for coach Krizancic’s team struggling to turn its efforts into victories during the last week.
“We played three games last week and two this week,” coach Krizancic explained. “This was a game we absolutely needed.”
