Mentor Cardinals Expect Better Defense Against Lakeside

The Mentor Cardinals enjoyed a 67-point victory earlier this week, but the team knows improvements are needed to get to Columbus in a few weeks.

"We have a lot of deficiencies," coach Bob Krizancic said during practice Thursday. "We hadn't been shooting well (before the 114-47 victory over Chardon), and free-throws in the fourth quarter weren't good.

"So, we're just trying to improve every game, and when you get in the tournament you want to be healthy and confident."

No. 1 seed Mentor plays No. 11 Lakeside at 7 p.m. in Euclid for the sectional title. If Mentor wins, the team would play the victor between the Willoughby South-Madison game.

While Krizancic believes Lakeside is better than Chardon, he expects previous experiences to carry his team tonight.

"They know what it's about, they're pretty smart," he said. "In the (Arby's Classic Tournament), we played some really good teams in this country, we played Shaker, so we know that we have to play hard all the time."

Senior guard Jeff Foreman called the Chardon win "just another game," and said the team must perform better defensively to move on.

"I think that our bread and butter, for the past eight to 10 years, that everybody knows is our press defense up and down the floor," Foreman said. "That hasn't been the greatest lately, keeping guys in traps, sprinting back, hustling.

"We can do a greater job at that."