Monday, April 22, 2013
The Cardinals will host a meet 'n greet April 28 at the Mentor Senior Center
If you have not had a chance to congratulate or celebrate with the state champion Mentor High boys basketball team, then you will get your chance April 28. From 5 to 8 p.m., the Cardinals, their coaches and the Cage Club will host a meet 'n greet at the Mentor Senior Center as part of Community Appreciation Night. Championship T-shirts, team photos and team posters will also be available for sale with the proceeds going to support the team. Those who would attend are asked to RSVP to Angela Valeri at Advaleri4@yahoo.com by April 24. The Mentor High boys basketball team (25-5) beat Toledo Rogers (21-8) by 76-67 to win their first state championship in the program's history last month. The championship represents the fourth state title in …
Thursday, April 4, 2013
The Cardinal Cage Club has printed 800 shirts that will be available at the Board of Education office and Mentor High School
Want something to remember the Mentor boys basketball's state championship by? The Cardinal Cage Club is selling T-shirts commemorating the team's historical season today and Friday at the Mentor Schools Board of Education office. Then, starting on April 8, the shirts will be sold in the Mentor High gymnasium lobby from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. until they run out. Shirts will cost $15 each and sizes small through triple extra large will be available. The Cardinal Cage Club has only ordered 800 shirts but, depending on demand, more can be ordered.
Monday, March 25, 2013
The first state championship team in the history of Mentor High boys basketball thanked their fans, city and community during a rally in their honor Sunday
The community rallied Sunday to congratulate the Mentor High boys basketball team on their state championship win. But -- instead of the team thanking the city -- the coach and team used the rally as an opportunity to thank their fans, school, city and community. "We have to thank every single on of you guys," senior forward Jeff Foreman told the crowd that filled the Mentor High gym. "You guys are phenomenal. There's not anywhere in the state of Ohio or, I think, in the country that's as supportive as you guys. This city really is a family." Likewise, Coach Bob Krizancic said the team won for "themselves, their family, this school system, their community and the entire Mentor Nation." The Mentor High boys basketball team (25-5) beat …
Sunday, March 24, 2013
The boys basketball team won their first state championship and the district's first team championship since 1994
It was a big night for the team. For the school district. For the city. The Mentor High boys basketball team (25-5) beat Toledo Rogers (21-8) by 76-67 to win their first state championship in the program's history Saturday night. It was also the first team championship for the Mentor Schools district since the boys soccer team won it all in 1994. The Rams and Cardinals kept the game close in the first half. The lead changed eight times throughout the early goings. Toledo Rogers even held a narrow lead -- 37-34 -- at the half. For the first two quarters, Devonte Pratt spearheaded the Rams' efforts with 21 points. However, Pratt only scored two more points in the second half after the Cardinals put Brody Nelson -- who has been a lockdown …
Friday, March 22, 2013
The Cardinals topped previously unbeaten Columbus Northland 80-69; will play Saturday evening for the state championship
The Mentor boys basketball team (24-5) topped the previously unbeaten Columbus Northland squad (28-1) to earn their spot in the Div. 1 state final. The Cardinals will play the winner of Cincinnati Walnut Hills and Toledo Rogers -- to be decided Friday night -- at 8:30 p.m. Saturday in the Schottenstein Center on campus at Ohio State University. Mentor led at the end of every quarter but the close game featured almost 20 lead changes and about half as many tied scores. At the beginning of the third, the Cardinals only led 56-54 but they extended their lead to more than 11 points by the final whistle. Mentor remains unbeaten this season when they score more than 70 points. For a more complete recap of the state semi, check out our Storify …
Sunday, March 17, 2013
The third time proves to be the charm for the Mentor boys basketball team
Twice this season The Mentor boys basketball team squandered 17-point leads against Shaker Heights. Not again. Not for a third time. On Saturday Night, the Cardinals held onto their lead and won the Division I regional championship game against their rival. After losing 17-point leads in each of the regular-season meetings against the Raiders, Mentor jumped out at halftime by that exact number once again - coincidentally - and more than just held on in routing Shaker Heights, 76-56, at the Wolstein Center. With the victory, the Cardinals (23-5) are headed to the state final four where they will play Columbus Northland on Friday afternoon at Value City Arena on the campus of Ohio State University. It is the second time in program history …
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Mentor put together an 18-0 run en route to a 60-46 win against North Canton Hoover Thursday night
When the Mentor boys basketball team have faced Shaker Heights this season, it has gone Shaker's way. Twice the Cardinals squandered 17-point leads against the Raiders. But Mentor (22-5) will get the rematch it craves when they meet Shaker Heights 7 p.m. Saturday with a spot in the Division I state final four on the line. The Cardinals are playing in their third regional final in four years. To get there, the they topped North Canton Hoover 60-46 during a regional semi Wednesday at Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center. Hoover led early, scoring the game's first seven point. But Mentor replied with an 18-0 run and were never seriously threatened again. Jeff Foreman led the charge, hitting five 3-pointers in the first half and …
Friday, March 8, 2013
The Mentor High boys basketball team is one win away from its sixth straight district title
Last week, Mentor High boys basketball Coach Bob Krizancic told his team that they needed to play better defense. His players took the message to heart. They clamped down on South and rolled past the Rebels, 84-44 in the Division I district semifinal Thursday. “You could see the energy we played with tonight on defense, and that was great to see,” Krizancic told Ohio Varsity. “It was a complete effort for us on both ends. We played a lot of guys and had a lot of guys step up and play really well. But the time to enjoy this doesn’t last long. We have a game to play on Saturday and we know it is going to be a challenge.” South -- who had been playing well of late and toppled PAC foes Riverside and Madison to make the district semis -- were …
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
The boys basketball team beat Strongsville 104-93 but both the coach and players called the team's first-half performance "flat"
Mentor Boys Basketball Coach Bob Krizancic is not a man who is satisfied whenever his team notches one in the win column. The quality of the win matters also; and he called Mentor's 104-93 victory over Strongsville Tuesday night "probably our worst game of the year," according to Ohio Varsity. "Flat is a 'nice' word to use to describe the effort, especially in the first half," he said. "We just didn’t have great rhythm or energy and we didn’t play a smart basketball game." The Cardinals (15-3) beat Strongsville by 50 points earlier this season. However, on Tuesday, the teams were knotted at 45 at the half. Then Mentor scored 38 points in the third quarter to pull ahead and led by as much as 27 in the fourth. Senior Jeff Foreman led Mentor'…
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Cardinals, Tigers battled in a 2-hour showdown that included more than 50 fouls
It was never easy. The Mentor boys basketball team topped Cleveland Heights 96-87 Saturday night and it was a victory in which they had to fight for every advantage. The Cardinals pulled into an early double-digit lead during the first quarter but the Tigers fought back and only trailed by 5, 49-44, at the half. The game was ultimately decided by a critical 16-2 run in the early third quarter in which Conner Krizancic hit three 3s and Jeff Foreman added another one. Even then the Tigers fought back and shrunk the Cardinal's lead to eight points (76-64) by the end of the third quarter. But Mentor put the game away with solid work at the charity stripe, making 16 of 21 foul shots in the final quarter. Foul shooting was important in a game …
Bill Drost
12:44 pm on Tuesday, April 23, 2013
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