Coach Bob Krizancic knew young players were going to be crucial this season for Mentor. He got his first look at them in a game setting Dec. 5 with the Greater Cleveland Conference opener against Lorain. The young players were more than up for the challenge, taking a 90-63 win with nine players gett ing in the scorebook. Mentor improves to 1-0, while Lorain falls to 0-2. The Cardinals started three sophomores and a junior with Tony Katava as the lone senior in the starting lineup. But that doesn’t mean the Cardinals lacked experience on the court. Katava moved from an outside shooter into an inside role, finding success in the post with 15 of his 23 points coming in the first half. He’s still adjusting to the role but has found comfort in his different spot this season. “It makes the game a lot easier,” Katava said. “Shooting the 2 is a lot better than the 3 — there’s a better chance of scoring. I’m just going to the rim and making plays happen. But not just for me. In the second quarter there was that cross, kickout to Tommy (Pavicic) for the 3 and he got the foul with the make, plays like that help make us go.” Mentor's Jack Kennedy drives Dec. 5 against visiting Lorain. (Paul DiCicco - for The News-Herald) Kavava matched the number of turnovers that Mentor forced in the first quarter, with the vaunted Mentor press defense in full effect led by sophomore point guard Jack Kennedy. While the Cardinals forced 15 turnovers in the opening frame, and 35 in the contest, they struggled to find the bottom of the bucket in the first quarter and from beyond the arc in the second. Krizancic knows they need to be able to convert the transition layups at a better clip if they don’t want teams like Lorain to be able to make comeback bids. “We’ve been working so hard on finishing from both sides of the hoop,” Krizancic said. “I know it may not have looked like it tonight, but we’re getting better. I think if those do, along with us being better shooting. The nerves were a big thing as well. “We have four sophomores and a freshman in there at times as part of the rotation. This is our youngest team ever, and they’re going to get better as the season goes on. It was a lot of their first times out there in this environment other than Tony.” The big issue for Mentor over the past two seasons has been their work on the glass an that came into play again against the Titans. The Cardinals trailed in the rebounds department, 35-22. The second-chance looks allowed Lorain to stick around as Javell Morris connected on a 3-pointer in the middle of the first that made it 11-8. Morris hit two more 3-pointers in the second quarter that trimmed the deficit from 17 to eight as the Titans made a run to get back into the game. The Cardinals also went cold from deep in the second quarter, going 1-for-8 from beyond the arc with the lone make coming from Kennedy, who finished with 17 points and was the team’s leading rebounder at four. Mentor is no stranger from attempting a high volume of looks from beyond the arc, but Krizancic understands they can’t just settle from deep and need to find the open shots. “We want a vast majority of our possessions to be in transition,” Krizancic said. “That will nullify any size. We just have to work really hard about getting a body on people and then being reactive. I like the pace. We talked about wanting to score three points in a minute. To have 90 in 27 minutes with our main rotation is reaching that goal easily.” The defensive intensity returned in the third for the Cardinals, forcing turnovers on two of Lorain’s first four possessions, pushing the lead back to double digits. Mentor has the depth to keep pressing no matter any foul situation, as nine players saw significant minutes against the Titans. Katava realizes having that plus the diverse playing styles that the team brings will challenge opponents. “It helps us with that press because we get tired with that defense,” Katava said. “We want me to be out there for as long as possible and I can say I need a quick breather and they get me out and nothing has changed. Same with Jack. We have more ball handlers than last year and that depth makes us not have to worry about things.” Mentor also had strong showings from Bernard Gnjatic with 14 points, all in the second half, as well as Logan Lynch and Tommy Pavicic at 10 points each. Lorain was led by Jaylen Jackson with 23 points and Morris with 11. Mentor takes a brief step out of conference to travel to Berea-Midpark on Dec. 9 in an early game with Division I postseason implications. Lorain travels to Elyria on a quick turnaround Dec. 6. THE SCORE Mentor 90, Lorain 63 ...read more read less