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MENTOR, Ohio– The Mentor Cardinals were put in an unfamiliar situation late in the game against Medina.
They were faced with a one or two-possession game down the stretch of the fourth quarter for the first time all season but ended up holding on, securing a 76-70 win over Medina, improving their conference-best record to 5-0.
“We always want to prove that we’re the best,” Steven Key said on a night where he tied a career-high in scoring with 33 points. “That’s the only mentality we have, to go out and win every game and this was a really big GCC win.”
The Cardinals were able to head into halftime with a 40-34 lead following a layup by Luke Chicone.
They carried that momentum over into the third quarter where they started the first four minutes on a 15-7 run to push their lead to 14. From there, Medina went on a run of its own, an 8-1 run to close out the quarter, facing a 56-52 deficit heading into the fourth quarter.
Jajuan Jackson’s 3-pointer cuts the Mentor lead to 56-52 heading into the 4th.
Bees end the final 3 mins on a 8-1 run. pic.twitter.com/kDF7ilb8Ld— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) February 4, 2021
The Cardinals maintained a six-point lead for most of the fourth quarter, until the closing minute of the game when two free throws from senior guard Jonah Waag pushed their lead to eight points.
Then Corey Tripp started to inch the Bees closer. Two and-one layups followed with another layup fighting through contact got Medina within two with under 30 seconds left.
@CoreyTr1pp gets the Bees within two, 72-70 with under 30 seconds left in the 4th. pic.twitter.com/C8wpKfA122
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) February 5, 2021
Waag would then draw a charge, eventually putting Chicone at the free-throw line and making it a four-point game. Waag and Key would then put the game out of reach for good with late free throws, securing the series sweep against Medina.
“I don’t know if you can find three better guards in the state, I love those three,” Krizancic said about Waag, Chicone and Key. “I love the mentality of our players.”
Key, Waag and Chicone finished the night with 33, 20 and 13 points respectively, scoring 66 of the team’s 76 points during the win. When coach Krizancic’s top players are performing at a level like that, Medina coach Chris Hassinger knows it’s going to be a tall task for his team to overcome.
“They’ve got a lot of really good players and you got to pick your poison with them,” Hassinger said. “I thought we did a pretty good job defensively actually one of the best defensive jobs we’ve done all year…These guys are the toughest team in the state of Ohio.”
Corey Tripp led the way for Medina with 26 points. Senior guard Brandon Geschke added 18 points along with senior forward Christian Howard pouring in 16 points, all in the second half to help the Bees make things close in the end.
Turnovers were the story of the game for Hassinger and his team as Mentor capitalized on them extensively in the first half. It’s a learning experience for a Medina team that’s focused more than ever on postseason play.
“That’s uncharacteristic by us,” Hassinger said of the 13 first-half turnovers. “Some of that was fatigue, we haven’t played since last week… It’s hard but you know what, we’re alright with where we’re at right now.”
“This is a hostile environment and this is every tournament game,” he added. “I love this, I love playing Buchtel on Saturday and we’re just about getting ready for the tournament now.”
