Cole Krizancic Almost Matches Career High in District Championship Win

There’s no relationship quite like a father coaching his son.

All the highs and lows throughout a season are felt a little more pointedly between them than all the other players on the team. More is demanded of the son; a more personal understanding is expected from the father.

As Mentor’s Cole Krizancic piled up another score against Brush on Saturday night, you could hear the extra tinge of emotion from his father and coach, Bob, his pride rising with every magnificent play his son used to lift the Cardinals to another district title.

Before it was over, Krizancic posted 41 points, one short of his career high, to lead the Mentor boys’ basketball team to a 76-67 victory over Brush for their fourth straight district title at Euclid High School. The father felt relief at not letting his senior son down just short of their state championship goals.

“I feel the happiest I ever have right now because had we not won, it would have been a disaster not getting that fourth one in his senior year. I think the senior year is special. Tonight I was more nervous today than I have been in a long, long time because of him ending his career,” coach Bob Krizancic said.

Junior Justin Fritts scored 16 points and reached 1,000 points for his career. Curtis Oakley Jr. led Brush with 24 points, while Pharaoh Brown had 17 and Dayne Peterson got 14.

Mentor (20-4), a state final four participant last season, returns once again to the Wolstein Center at Cleveland State, where they will face Berea in the Region 2 semifinals at 8 p.m. Wednesday. Berea defeated Lorain, 64-59, at Midview High School on Saturday night.

“It was definitely the biggest game of my life. It’s came in my senior year, my last district final,” Cole Krizancic said. “It would have been horrible to end it here on a loss. We definitely got the goal done, and it’s just a great way to finish districts.”

Perhaps the play that symbolized Krizancic’s night came at the end of the third quarter when he spotted an opportunity to steal the ball from Brush sophomore guard Jameel Moore near the basket. As the two players got tangled and fell, Krizancic flipped the ball to the goal for a score and Moore was called for the foul.  Krizancic made the free throw and Mentor led, 58-47.

“I kind of read the pass. I knew they wanted to get it to Jameel. I kind of got a good jump on it and the ball was kind of loose. I knew I was right around the basket. I felt like if I went up, he was going to foul me,” Krizancic said.

But Oakley hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to close the quarter and draw the Arcs closer, 58-50.

After a pair of quick scores drew the Arcs within four at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Mentor responded as Krizancic made a pair of free throws and Collin Barth nailed 3-pointer to blunt Brush’s progress at 6:15.

Peterson and Brown got a pair of scores for Brush, but Krizancic slammed the door with a basket of his own and an assist to Fritts for a 67-58 lead at 2:46. The Arcs were left to foul the Cardinals the rest of the way and suffer another defeat at the hands of Mentor.

Mentor defeated Brush (16-7) for the fourth straight time in district play including three straight in the district finals.  Mentor also beat Brush in the district semifinals in 2008. If that wasn’t enough, they also downed them, 76-66, in January.

Arcs coach Jayson Macauda, who’s coached Brush for the last seven years, has taken stock of his role in these Mentor matchups.

“It’s frustrating. As I told one of the other guys, I feel like I’m Bernie Kosar and Bob (Krizancic) is John Elway right now,” Macauda said. “We need to get over that hump.”

Brush came out determined early to change their fate against Mentor. After Krizancic netted a 3-pointer for a 15-14 lead in the first quarter, Brush went on a 10-0 run to close it.  Oakley received a pass from Peterson for a score and then Brown scored three of the final four baskets for the Arcs including the final one on a pass from Jameel Moore with 15 seconds left.

But Mentor responded quickly at the beginning of the second quarter as they went on a 6-2 run with two 3-pointers from Fritts and Krizancic to draw to 26-21. The Cardinals could have drawn closer, but they had four consecutive misses from beyond the arc.

The Cardinals were undaunted by their misses as Fritts finally broke the drought with a basket with four minutes remaining in the quarter that began  a 9-0 run that allowed the them to regain the lead, 30-29. Krizancic canned a 3-pointer and Danny Wallack’s layup got the Cardinals over the hump.

Oakley responded with a quick score to retain the lead for Brush, but Krizancic got fouled on a score and converted to put the Cardinals up, 33-31, at 1:48. The Cardinals never trailed again.

Mentor   15 20 23 18 76

Brush      24   8  18 17 67

Mentor: Cole Krizancic 41, Justin Fritts 16, Danny Wallack 6, Matt Solden 5, Collin Barth 4, Tom Strobel 2, Derek Bryner 2.

Brush: Curtis Oakley Jr. 24, Pharaoh Brown 17, Dayne Peterson 14, Brandon Dawson 9, Jameel Moore 3.