The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
High school boys basketball tournament capsules
(14) MENTOR VS. (13) JACKSON
What: Division I district final When: 6 p.m., March 9
Where: Euclid, 711 E. 222nd St., Euclid
Records: Mentor 18-7, Jackson 21-4
Mentor’s path: Defeated Chardon, 108-70, def. North, 112-68, def. Green, 83-70
Jackson’s path: Defeated Garrett Morgan, 79-34, def. Ellet, 83-53, def. Dover, 63-56
On deck: The winner will play the winner of St. Ignatius and Elyria in a regional semifinal on March 13 at Kent.
For the Record: Mentor’s victory over Green was its first game under the century mark this postseason. Ryan Calo returned from an injury at the beginning of the season, and he scored 25 points against the Bulldogs. He was a strong counterpart to Ian Ioppolo (27points) and Matt Biddell (23 points) in his first full game back. While Mentor has been able to work well off the drive, it also still has the range to challenge opponents from beyond the arc. The Cardinals had 13 3-pointers against Green and have connected on 36this postseason. … Since a loss to Green by a single point, Jackson has won 13 in a row. The Polar Bears feature juniors Kyle Monterrubio, Cam Weekley and Mitch Finefrock all averaging double figures. They have the scoring prowess to keep up with Mentor — Jackson averages 73 points to Mentor’s 88.5 — and have a strong defense, holding opponents to 56.5points. The question is, will the Polar Bears be able to slow down Mentor’s pace of play? Hercik’s pick: Mentor
(17) VASJ VS. (4) CVCA
What: Division II district final When: 4 p.m., March 9
Where: Akron North, 985 Gorge Blvd., Akron
Records: VASJ 17-7, CVCA 22-2 VASJ’s path: Defeated Chaney, 71-67, def. Alliance, 90-84(3OT)
CVCA’s path: Defeated Tallmadge, 61-20, def. Poland Seminary, 64-47
On deck: The winner will play the winner of Ursuline and NDCL in a regional semifinal at Canton on March 14.
For the Record: The Vikings survived a triple overtime game to advance to a district final for the second year in a row. VASJ was led by Jeremiah Martin with 32 points, with Quandell Wright (17 points) Sean Shenker (12 points) and Kye Owens (10 points) all in double figures. The Vikings also got a strong boost from Antonio Brown who came in and out with foul trouble. If VASJ wants to right the wrongs of last year’s district final against Buchtel, they will need to match pace with the Royals and have better ball control than they did in the district semifinal. … CVCA returns to the district final after a trip to this round a season ago as well. The Royals’ season started with a 12-game win streak followed by another eight-game win streak. CVCA’s losses were to Barberton by two at the end of the regular season and Louisville. CVCA averages 68.4 points per game and features Larvelle Sharpe and Niles Nuru, who are strong from beyond the arc. CVCA is aggressive on the ball and has several players who can generate fast breaks. They hold opponents to 49 points per game this season.
Hercik’s pick: CVCA
(27) NDCL VS. (2) URSULINE
What: Division II district final When: 4 p.m., March 9
Where: Warren Harding, 860 Elm Rd. NE, Warren
Records: NDCL 13-12, Ursuline 21-3
NDCL’s path: Defeated West Geauga, 50-34, def. Geneva, 7861, def. Edgewood, 70-46 Ursuline’s path: Defeated Collinwood, 62-19, def. Lincoln West, 74-13, def. Streetsboro, 64-35 On deck: The winner will play the winner of CVCA and VASJ in a regional semifinal at Canton on March 14.
For the Record: The Lions used a strong third-quarter run to pull ahead of Edgewood in a district semifinal. NDCL had Connor Hernan step up as a scorer with Jaxon Mangelluzzi having a quiet contest against the Warriors. Hernan had 18points in the victory as one of three players in double figures, along with Angelo Tamburrino and Brendan Hernan. The Lions struggled from beyond the arc — their first 3-pointer came midway through the third quarter, but they dominated the boards and paint with 35 rebounds. NDCL will need a better performance from deep to pull another upset. … Ursuline has a balanced attack and averagees 68.8 points per game. They are led by senior Jayden Payne and freshman Jaylen Gunther with three others who can score when needed. The defense has been equally as strong, holding teams to 49.9 points per game. The Fighting Irish have only had eight games within 10 points on the season but have been on the losing end of three of them as they try to take the next step after last year’s district final loss to Gilmour.
Hercik’s pick: Ursuline