Jan. 20 was one of those nights offensively for Mentor that doesn’t usually happen during the tenure of Cardinals coach Bob Krizanzic.However, it did happen, and the result wasn’t a good one for the scarlet and gray.
Brunswick held Mentor to three points in the fourth quarter and avenged a season-opening loss on their home floor as the Blue Devils played efficiently on offense and were tremendous on defense in a 61-48 victory over the Cardinals.
Mentor slipped to 9-2 overall 6-2 in the GCC with a loss five weeks after the Cardinals scored 82 points at Brunswick in an 8-point win over the Blue Devils.
That had Krizancic wondering if his players had fallen into looking past the game with a highly-anticipated road matchup against state-ranked Massillon Jackson set for Jan. 21.
“That was discussed,” Krizancic said, referring to the upcoming game against Jackson. “This game scared me because of that. We saw the possibility.
“You’re not going to win big games with three points in the fourth quarter. We have to get tougher and get better.”
The Blue Devils improved to 11-5 overall and 5-3 in the GCC.
Senior point guard Keith Simmons paced the Blue Devils with 18 points. Sophomore guard Kyle Goessler added 16 points.
The Blue Devils had leads of 19-18 after the first quarter and 38-31 at halftime.
Mentor got a game-high 22 points from senior guard Jack Korsok, 10 of them coming in the third quarter as the Cardinals finally made a push to pull into a 45-45 tie going into the fourth quarter.
Brunswick owned the final eight minutes, however, limiting the Cardinals to one field goal and one free throw.
Krizancic gave credit to the Blue Devils for dictating tempo and shutting Mentor down defensively when the game was on the line.
“We don’t want to play that style, but we always struggle against that team,” Krizancic said. “They’re tough and well-coached.”
Manning Trubisky added 11 points for Mentor.
Brunswick 61, Mentor 48
Brunswick (11-5, 5-3 GCC): Simmons 18, Dosler 16, Felician 4, Sedj 7, Saufla 2, Bografos 14
Mentor (9-2, 6-2 GCC): Korsok 22, Ma. Trubisky 11, Koski 1, Zalba 7, Tatarunas 2, Floriea 2, Kryz 3
Brunswick 19 19 7 16 — 61
Mentor 18 13 14 3 — 48
Free throws: Brunswick 16 of 22, Mentor 4 of 8; 3-pointers: Brunswick 9 (Simmons 3, Dosler 2, Sedj 2, Bografos 2), Mentor 6 (Trubisky 3, Korsok 2, Zalba); JV: Mentor def. Brunswick
