Mentor Boys' Basketball Team Streaks into Regional Final

District darling Berea looked like it was more than happy just to be at Cleveland State’s Wolstein Center for the Division I, Region 2 semifinals.

And, well, defending regional champion Mentor was more than happy to send them straight back home.

In a rout that was more than just a little expected, the Cardinals roughed up the Braves, 105-62, going over the 100-point mark for the third time in their last five playoff games on Wednesday night.

With Berea tucked safely away, the Cardinals can focus on Garfield Heights, the top team in Ohio Division I boys’ basketball.  The Bulldogs knocked off St. Edward, 79-72, in the night’s opener.

The two teams will square off with a trip to Columbus on the line Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

A veteran coach like Bob Krizancic has seen pretty much everything at this level, and Garfield Heights is simply another challenge that has to be faced.

“We’re not going to be awed or intimidated (by Garfield Heights), but we will have to play a good game,” he said.

Lake Erie League Lake Division champion Mentor (21-4) has now won 14 of its last 15 games with its only loss coming to St. Edward, 108-105, in its final home game of the season Feb. 19. Mentor’s list of playoff victims includes Geneva (95-48), East Tech (106-66), Shaw (100-84) and Brush (76-67).

Junior guard Justin Fritts led the way for the Cardinals with 28 points, while Cole Krizancic had 15 points. Collin Barth jumped into the double figures column with 13.

Berea guard Javon Cook had 19 points, Ryan Hayes had 13 and T.J. Wade had 10.

Although Mentor and Garfield Heights (23-1) did not face each other this season, make no mistake, Mentor coach Bob Krizancic is quite aware of them.

“Garfield’s a load, an absolute load,” Krizancic said. “They’re really good.”

The load to which Krizancic refers is Garfield Heights’ size. Usual front-line starters Mike McQueen (6-foot-7), Tony Farmer (6-6) and Adam Barbour (6-4) tower over Mentor’s guard-oriented lineup. Krizancic believes playing in the LEL, which features the likes of Cleveland Heights and Warren G. Harding, will be of great use to them.

“We’ve faced big teams before. … We’re going to have to knock down some shots. The boards are going to be huge,” Krizancic said. “They have a lot of athletes on the floor, and we’re going to have to play an extremely good game.”

In between games, Garfield Heights coach Sonny Johnson expressed his respect and admiration for Mentor and especially coach Krizancic, a veteran of many a regional battle. This is Mentor’s fourth straight trip to the regionals, while this is remarkably Garfield Heights’ first trip in more than 60 years.

“They’re a well-coached team.  I have been a fan of Coach K since I was playing in high school,” Johnson, who played for Garfield Heights, said. “When I first got the job, they asked me about some of the coaches I respected, and he was definitely one of the top ones on my list.”

Upon facing Mentor, Johnson believes his Bulldogs’ prior battle with the Eagles was the proper preparation for facing Mentor as they play a similar pressing, three-point shooting style.

“I just have to make sure I do a better job of preparing my kids for Saturday,” Johnson said.

As for the Braves (16-8), they had made a surprise run to the Wolstein Center from the Grafton District, knocking off Olmsted Falls (64-60), top-seed Avon Lake (67-58), third-seed Brunswick (47-44) and finally sixth-seed Lorain (64-59).

For what that was all worth, Berea was never in the game. Danny Wallack opened the game’s scoring with a wide-open 3-pointer on the game’s very first shot and Berea’s heads quickly lowered in the harsh light of CSU’s regional lights.

Mentor reeled off 13 straight points for a 21-4 lead before Cody Swinnerton earned the Braves' third basket of the game at 3:09. Mentor piled up another unanswered run of 10 straight points until Ryan Hayes broke the Braves’ drought at 1:20. By then, though, the Cardinals led, 31-8.

It was over before it really started.

Heading into the fourth quarter, a different set of questions arose. Would Mentor score 100? Would Mentor’s margin of victory be 50? Would all of Mentor’s players score? Would any of Mentor’s stars come back into the game for more shooting repetitions? The answers were yes, no, no and, well, no.

Certainly nobody was asking if Berea was going to make a comeback by then. Except for a few random cheers here and there, the Wolstein Center’s announcer could be heard quite clearly throughout the second half. After all, nobody was left to compete with him.

Mentor 36 17 29 23 105

Berea       9 20 21 12 62

Mentor: Justin Fritts 28, Cole Krizancic 15, Collin Barth 13, Brandon Fritts 9, Conner Krizancic 7, Jeff Foreman 6, Mitchell Trubinsky 5, Danny Wallack 5, Caleb Potter 4, Matt Solden 4, Brad Kukula 3, Derek Bryner 2, Cody Kern 2, Branden Piks 2.

Berea: Javon Cook 19, Ryan Hayes 13, T.J. Wade 10, Derrick Hall 8, Cody Swinnerton 6, Ron Bates 4, Miles Davis 2.