January had not been kind to Mentor, as the Cardinals lost three consecutive games, which they hadn’t done in a decade, to start the new year. But after what Coach Bob Krizancic termed “a great week of practice”, Mentor’s press, half-court defense and outside shooting all looked much improved over recent outings when Medina paid a visit to the Cards’ Nest on Jan. 17. The Cardinals broke open a tight game with a 28-point third quarter, and senior Kobe Frasure-Azzano scored 28 points as Mentor outlasted Medina, 76-64, upping its record to 7-4 overall and 3-3 in the Greater Cleveland Conference. Mentor collectively knocked down ten 3-pointers in 23 attempts, and Frasure-Azzano led the way with four. But it was the Cardinals’ defense, using full-court pressure and tight man-to-man in the half-court, and doing that with more energy than in previous games, that was essential in keeping the dangerous Bees in check. Medina (7-5, 2-4) shot at a very impressive 63% clip from the field (27 of 43), but just two of their made shots came from outside the arc, and their 43 attempts were significantly less than Mentor’s 57. @CardinalCage senior Kobe Frasure-Azzano, who scored a game-high 28 points, discusses Mentor’s 76-64 win over Medina that snapped a 3-game losing streak pic.twitter.com/mGSwQc5sEJ — Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) January 18, 2025 “They have great shooters,” Frasure-Azzano said of Medina. “We had to man up and deny their shooters in the halfcourt. We had to come out with a lot of energy, especially coming off the three losses.” The first quarter saw four lead changes, and there were two more in the second quarter before Mentor took a 31-27 lead into halftime. Frasure-Azzano, who played limited minutes in losses to Strongsville and Brunswick after injuring his tailbone taking charges against Cleveland Heights, scored 18 points in the first half, including all four of his 3s. “Coach Foley came in (to practice) and he helped us with our jump shot,” Frasure-Azzano said. “I feel like that gave us tremendous confidence.” 6-foot-8 senior Jase Holland was virtually unstoppable for Medina, scoring 24 points, 12 in each half, which included seven rim-rattling dunks. The Bees had a bit of a size advantage, with 6-foot-5 Brody Kopkas, and 6-foot-6 Kellon Johnson, who finished with 12 points, in addition to Holland, and 6-foot-5 Garrett Myers and 6-foot-3 Ryan Harubin coming off the bench. But the Cardinals were able to keep the game at their preferred fast pace to offset the Bees’ size, and they forced seven turnovers in the third frame. Senior Marcus Sierputowski scored 15 of his 19 points, and junior Tony Katava added 8 of his 15 as Mentor stretched its lead to 59-46 after three. Medina kept battling, but couldn’t get any closer than 71-64 in the fourth quarter before Mentor scored the game’s last five points. @CardinalCage Coach Bob Krizancic goes over Mentor’s 76-64 win over Medina (Part 1) pic.twitter.com/aF8TmiiI6h — Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) January 18, 2025 “It was a needed win coming off three losses,” Krizancic said. “It’s a rarity for us (to lose three in a row), and we had won 29 straight at home before losing last week (to Strongsville). We did what we had to do. “Kobe played an average of seven minutes (in the three losses). He was injured with a tailbone bruise. For him to play minimal (minutes) in those three losses really hurt us. You could see (the difference) tonight.” @CardinalCage Coach Bob Krizancic reviews Mentor’s 76-64 win over Medina that snapped a very rare 3-game losing streak (Part 2) pic.twitter.com/UqIfEnUjOd — Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) January 18, 2025 Frasure-Azzano pulled down seven rebounds, Katava grabbed five, Sierputowski had three steals, and Jack Kennedy dished out 10 assists. Luke Hassinger corralled nine rebounds for Medina. Mentor will be at home for three games next week, starting with Cornerstone Christian on Jan. 20, led by Quinn Kwasniak, who leads The News-Herald coverage area with 38.5 points per game and 7.6 assists per game, and has hit 85 3-pointers. That game will be part of a JV boys/varsity girls/varsity boys tripleheader that has been moved to earlier in the day so as not to interfere with the college football national championship game later in the evening. “We had that brutal stretch — Heights away, and Brunswick and Strongsville in the same week,” Krizancic said. “But you grow up. I think that’s what we did. We had a great week of practice. We watched a lot of film and ran a lot for conditioning purposes so we’re ready to go when the other team is tired. It was one of the better weeks of practice for a young team.” THE SCORE Mentor 76, Medina 64