Greater Cleveland Conference
- Thread starter cardzfan1234
- Start date
MentorGrad2002
Well-known member
Couldn't make the game but glad to see Mentor won the GCC by beating Brunswick in 2OT yesterday!
cardzfan1234
Well-known member
Both Mentor and Brunswick proved they are the class of the league last night. Some of the best players in the GCC (including the four very best based on what I saw this year) put up strong efforts led by Iopollo and Brunswick’s Barnett.
The game wasn’t Mentor’s best, especially when they lost a 5 point lead late in the first overtime, but it was good enough to get the win.
A big win for Mentor as they get ready for similarly talented teams (Green, Jackson, Dover) at the Euclid district. It should be a confidence booster as they enter big games in March.
The game wasn’t Mentor’s best, especially when they lost a 5 point lead late in the first overtime, but it was good enough to get the win.
A big win for Mentor as they get ready for similarly talented teams (Green, Jackson, Dover) at the Euclid district. It should be a confidence booster as they enter big games in March.
cardzfan1234
Well-known member
Mentor 14-7 (10-2 GCC)
Brunswick 18-4 (9-3)
Strongsville 17-5 (7-5)
Cleveland Heights 13-9 (7-5)
Medina 12-10 (7-5)
Euclid 5-17 (1-11)
Shaker 4-18 (1-11)
Mentor is the only GCC team playing tonight as they are at Lake. At the start of this thread I predicted Mentor would have 16-17 wins, so their regular season was slightly below my expectation for the regular season.
I did predict 10-2 would be good enough to win the league, and that turned out to be right.
Strongsville was easily the surprise of the league. Going 10-0 in non-conference play is impressive. They beat Brunswick both times, which was their highlight of the season. The two play in the same district, so that will be interesting. I expect Brunswick to win. “Third times a charm.”
My oh my, how Shaker has fallen. A very difficult season for them.
Heights, Medina, and Euclid were probably right at expectations.
Brunswick 18-4 (9-3)
Strongsville 17-5 (7-5)
Cleveland Heights 13-9 (7-5)
Medina 12-10 (7-5)
Euclid 5-17 (1-11)
Shaker 4-18 (1-11)
Mentor is the only GCC team playing tonight as they are at Lake. At the start of this thread I predicted Mentor would have 16-17 wins, so their regular season was slightly below my expectation for the regular season.
I did predict 10-2 would be good enough to win the league, and that turned out to be right.
Strongsville was easily the surprise of the league. Going 10-0 in non-conference play is impressive. They beat Brunswick both times, which was their highlight of the season. The two play in the same district, so that will be interesting. I expect Brunswick to win. “Third times a charm.”
My oh my, how Shaker has fallen. A very difficult season for them.
Heights, Medina, and Euclid were probably right at expectations.
Thank you
Brunswick and Strongsville are not in the same district
Just a reminder this league is very competitive, the fact that strongsville had their senior night, last night
And they
Emphasize so much about beating Brunswick twice, but Heights took third place ahead of
Strongsville because they also beat the Mustangs twice,both teams are 7-5 in the league. Congratulations to the
Cardinals in winning the GCC Conference league championship in beating Brunswick in double Ot 89-84 but Heights still doesn’t get any respect, they captured third place in the league by beating Strongsville twice even though both teams have the exact same 7-5 record.
cardzfan1234
Well-known member
I stand corrected. For some reason I had them together in my memory.
Brunswick will have to get past St Eds in a probable district final. Strongsville ends up with a less daunting path IMO with their draw.
cardzfan1234
Well-known member
Tonight Mentor and legendary Coach Krizancic are playing in their 19th district title game since 2001. All but one or two of these games have been at Euclid. Something about that gym that has a little special extra something for Coach K’s guys. Mentor is 16-2 in district finals.
Fed League co-champ Jackson is in the way. They are riding a 13 game win streak. This won’t be easy, but I predict Mentor will cut down the nets tonight.
Fed League co-champ Jackson is in the way. They are riding a 13 game win streak. This won’t be easy, but I predict Mentor will cut down the nets tonight.
jpbear
Active member
I don't like being this guy but there isn't anything special about the gym for Mentor, it's literally just the closest district hosts around lol.
cardzfan1234
Well-known member
Of course that’s the logical take. But sports superstitions can be a powerful part of mental advantages or hurdles. Krizancic is no stranger to that (pre-game handshake, routines, water cup, etc.).
If Mentor wins tonight, will it be about the gym? No. And while the coaches might feel right at home in that gym, most of the players on this team (Iopollo and Biddell are the only exception) didn’t play a tournament game prior to a few days ago.
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jpbear
Active member
If Mentor wins tonight, no it won't entirely be because of the gym but it's of course a factor as it's basically a home game for them, and they will probably outnumber Jackson fans by quite a lot. Jackson has a single senior on the entire roster, Anthony Fuline (#20), so Jackson isn't a very experienced team either.
MentorGrad2002
Well-known member
Great job Brunswick. You love to see it
MentorGrad2002
Well-known member
2 awful turnovers at the end killed Mentor. Just gave it away there for 2 easy layups
Mentor was off most of the game and Jackson was tougher and got it done
Still a few bad sequences at the end
Mentor was off most of the game and Jackson was tougher and got it done
Still a few bad sequences at the end
Slow day at the office
New member
Surprised and disappointed to see mentor go down. I thought if they got hot they’d maybe have enough firepower to potentially upset ignatius. Unfortunately it looks like the blue devils will have to try and stop that buzzsaw themselves assuming they get by Glenoak which I believe they will
cardzfan1234
Well-known member
Mentor was down by 19 in the first half. It didn’t look good. Shots weren’t falling. Defensive intensity was lacking. Poor positioning and effort on rebounding. An inability to control tempo and generate the half court offense we are accustomed to seeing.
Late in the 3rd quarter, Mentor turned it on. Finally! Eventually taking a 70-67 lead late in the game behind an incredible 4th quarter by Iopollo. But too many late possessions in a row were wasted. Turnovers, a missed layup, and a lack of putting the ball in the hands of their best playmaker.
A tough pill to swallow for the seniors and coaching staff. This felt like Krizancic’s “last ride” as a district title winning coach. Jackson stepped up and looked like the better team much more often than not. Kudos to them.
I knew Mentor had no chance against Ignatius. I just wanted a chance to see Krizancic and Mentor cut down the nets one more time at Euclid.
Mentor is now 16-3 in district finals. Hard to lose this one. The comeback was amazing and the game was right there.
Late in the 3rd quarter, Mentor turned it on. Finally! Eventually taking a 70-67 lead late in the game behind an incredible 4th quarter by Iopollo. But too many late possessions in a row were wasted. Turnovers, a missed layup, and a lack of putting the ball in the hands of their best playmaker.
A tough pill to swallow for the seniors and coaching staff. This felt like Krizancic’s “last ride” as a district title winning coach. Jackson stepped up and looked like the better team much more often than not. Kudos to them.
I knew Mentor had no chance against Ignatius. I just wanted a chance to see Krizancic and Mentor cut down the nets one more time at Euclid.
Mentor is now 16-3 in district finals. Hard to lose this one. The comeback was amazing and the game was right there.
arizonawildcat
Well-known member
I said in another post that I was disappointed in Mentor's loss. I was looking forward to how Mentor's run-and-gun offense would fare against Ignatius' full court pressing defense. I thought Ignatius would prevail something like 70-55.
topperbounce
Defend the Hill
The two turnovers were the game. I feel bad for Mentor, but Jackson took advantage. It was a great high school basketball game.
jpbear
Active member
I would feel worse for Mentor if the game was stolen from them after dominating the whole game, they really only got back into it in the 4th. As I said earlier, great team and congrats to their seniors.
topperbounce
Defend the Hill
Agreed. Jackson controlled 90% of the game.
Congrats to Brunswick for gutting out that win vs Eds. Brunswick was in control for the 1st 3 quarters to lead by 10 heading into the 4th. Eds then took control with some good defense and some cold shooting by Brunswick and had the ball and a 5 point lead with under a minute left. Eds turned it over twice, leading to a bucket by Morgan and 3 ball by Barnett to tie the game and send it to OT. Brunswick regrouped and took control in the extra session. Quinn Barnett put on a absolute show and willed his team to the win. He's and exceptional talent. Good Luck to them on the Regionals this week.
Slow day at the office
New member
Barnett has been on fire this post season. Will need to continue to get Brunswick to its first regional final since.. well I couldn’t even tell you when lol. I think next years team will be good as well but I don’t know if they’ll have the ceiling this team has; will all depend on drexler’s development imo.
cardzfan1234
Well-known member
Ian Iopollo and Matthew Biddell highlight Mentor’s senior class. Both made it into the 1,000 point scoring club. Iopollo was higher on the list. He might’ve cracked the top 4 or 5 al time is my guess. Ian is one of the elite scorers in Mentor program history, which is saying a lot. He’s right there with Justin Fritts, Cole Krizancic, and Adam May as the four all-time “bucket getters” for Krizancic at Mentor in my opinion. You could pencil any of those guys in for 25 on almost any night.
Just one district title in three years (and none as “the guy”) just doesn’t quite crack the criteria needed to be a true First Team All-Time Mentor great in my book though. Not when there are a lot of other guys with two or three district titles. But he’s close. A heckuva scorer and that will translate to Findlay.
Biddell was a great athlete capable of going off inside or out. When he was at his best, he was very difficult to stop. He had some great highlights over his time, including the buzzer beater in TN and the big scoring game to get to 1,000.
Mentor will severely miss Iopollo and Biddell. Seniors Toot, Harrison, and O’Toole also started in their roles all season.
Just one district title in three years (and none as “the guy”) just doesn’t quite crack the criteria needed to be a true First Team All-Time Mentor great in my book though. Not when there are a lot of other guys with two or three district titles. But he’s close. A heckuva scorer and that will translate to Findlay.
Biddell was a great athlete capable of going off inside or out. When he was at his best, he was very difficult to stop. He had some great highlights over his time, including the buzzer beater in TN and the big scoring game to get to 1,000.
Mentor will severely miss Iopollo and Biddell. Seniors Toot, Harrison, and O’Toole also started in their roles all season.
Slow day at the office
New member
The GCC lives to fight another round. Couple fun facts: barring Brunswick getting held under ~30 points next round they will have scored the second most points in a season of any Medina county team ever. They are also the fifth team out of Medina county to ever advance to the regional final game and just the third since at least 1955 to hit the 23 win mark.
I don’t have high hopes for next round with a probable ignatius matchup but I know most in this thread will be pulling for Brunswick.. crazier things have happened.
I don’t have high hopes for next round with a probable ignatius matchup but I know most in this thread will be pulling for Brunswick.. crazier things have happened.
What schools and years are the other 4 to advance this far ??..
I do recall Medina making the State Final Four in 1983 ..
Slow day at the office
New member
81 Wadsworth, 83 Medina, 12 Medina, and 21 Medina were the only Medina county teams to wins a game at the regional level
Slow day at the office
New member
81 Wadsworth and 83 Medina were the only two to advance past a regional final (final four for medina and state championship for wadsworth). That said No Medina county team has ever won it all.