The Greater Cleveland Conference gauntlet never relents. Despite getting one-win Lorain’s best shot — and struggling to make shots — Mentor won its third straight game with a gritty 82-76 road win on Jan. 20. The Cardinals (9-3, 4-2 GCC) shot only 23.5% from beyond the arc (8-for-34) but made up for it by forcing 27 turnovers. Wins feel just as good on off nights. “That’s huge,” Mentor coach Bob Krizancic said. “(We didn’t) shoot well and had some turnovers. Close games down to the end are really, really important. You have to learn how to win games, make free throws and not turn it over. It’s kind of what we did. I thought we gutted it out and made some really good decisions late.” Records can be deceiving. Lorain is now 1-13 with 10 losses in a row after this game, but it has been more than competitive. The Titans’ last four defeats have come by eight points or less. They were ready to go early and jumped out to a 17-11 lead. Jaylen Jackson scored 11 of his career-high 35 points in the opening quarter as they held a 22-18 advantage after eight minutes. Just like the first meeting between these two teams that resulted in a 90-63 Mentor victory, turnovers played a huge factor. Lorain committed 11 turnovers in the second quarter, and the Cardinals took advantage with 26 points in the frame to take a 44-34 halftime lead. The second half was back-and-forth, but the second quarter was the difference maker. “We go from being up a little bit to being down, and we’re always clawing back,” Lorain coach Matt Kielian said. “We’re our own worst enemy at times. There are things we can control. There are lapses we have during the course of the game, and good teams will take advantage of it.” Some of Mentor’s struggles can be attributed to the fact it is a young team. It helps when one of two seniors on the roster steps up to combat that. Tony Katava was dominant inside on the way to 26 points. Lorain didn’t have an answer all night. “Tony is getting stronger in the paint. He shot 10-of-13 from the free-throw line, which was one of his better nights there,” Krizancic said. “He’s got to be able to score for us.” Mentor led by as much as 13 points following an and-one from Jack Kennedy to start the second half. The sophomore point guard scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half. However, Lorain didn’t go away quietly. The Titans responded to Kennedy’s bucket with a 15-3 run to pull within one. Jackson scored 15 of the team’s 26 points in the third quarter. Mentor led by five entering the fourth quarter and was able to fend off Lorain with Katava once again leading the charge. He ended the game on a high note with 10 points in the fourth. “I think it all starts with effort,” Katava said. “If we don’t play hard, we’re going to lose every single game basically. If we don’t show up and play, we’re going to lose. Lorain has been in close battles with two good teams in our conference.” Behind Katava and Kennedy, Connor Witte also finished in double figures with 10 points. Bernard Gnjatic made three 3-pointers to finish with nine points. “We’re getting better and better every single game with our sophomore point guard,” Krizancic said. “This is the youngest team I’ve ever coached. Every game is huge.” Both teams resume GCC play Jan. 23 as Mentor hosts Euclid and Lorain travels to Brunswick. THE SCORE Mentor 82, Lorain 76 ...read more read less