Catch up on what happened Friday night in boys basketball around Northeast Ohio and look ahead to what is coming this weekend.
AKRON, Ohio – Jayvon Graves had a spring in his step Friday vs. No. 1 St. Edward.
The 6-foot-3 senior guard noted the Eagles’ ranking in the cleveland.com boys basketball Top 25 added to his team’s motivation in St. Vincent-St. Mary's 69-67 win. Multiple times, he soared to the basket on offense and defense to dazzle the home crowd inside a jam-packed LeBron James Arena.
Graves, who scored a game-high 19 points, will take that game to Baldwin Wallace on Sunday for the Scholastic Play By Play Classic.
Fourteen teams will take part in the showcase, which begins at 10:15 a.m. with Lutheran East vs. Canton McKinley. The final game is slated to begin at 8:30 p.m. Here is a rundown of the games.
• No. 20 Lutheran East (6-3) vs. Canton McKinley (7-2), 10:15 a.m.: Mentor dropped out earlier in the week from this game. Lutheran East subbed in. The Bulldogs scored an impressive win at the LeBron James Classic against Toledo St. John, but they have dropped two straight against Massillon Jackson and North Canton Hoover, two of the Canton area’s best.
• No. 15 Holy Name (8-1) vs. No. 24 Brush (8-1), noon: This has the potential to be the game of the afternoon with four players who have received Division I college offers, led by junior guard Dwayne Cohill for the Green Wave. Expect college coaches to be in attendance to watch this one. Also look out for a matchup in the middle with Holy Name senior Malique Burton and Brush freshman John Hugley.
• Brunswick (7-4) vs. No. 1 St. Edward (7-2), 1:45 p.m.: Two well-coached teams with strong guard play, as the Blue Devils lean on sophomore Kyle Goessler and senior Keith Simmons. The Eagles start with seniors Tommy Schmock and Jack Sullivan to lead a young, up-and-coming group.
• Warren Harding (3-7) vs. No. 3 Cleveland Heights (6-2), 3:30 p.m.: This is another game of the day candidate, as Derek Cullver leads the Raiders against Yahel Hill and the Tigers. This one also includes its share of football standouts with Harding’s Lynn Bowden and Cleveland Heights’ tandem of Jaylen Harris and junior Tyreke Smith. Don’t be fooled by Harding’s record, which includes losses to STVM, St. Ignatius and Pennsylvania state champion Kennedy Catholic.
• No. 6 St. Vincent-St. Mary (5-3) vs. Euclid (0-9), 5:15 p.m.: Of course, the Irish start with Graves and Jon Williams. However, some youth will be on display with STVM’s Chris Painter and Lundon McDay, plus freshman Dom Moegerle and a few others. Euclid also boasts freshman point guard Garvin Clarke and Emmari Baddour.
• Revere (4-2) vs. No. 4 Garfield Heights (8-2), 7 p.m.: Some more Division I college-bound players will be on display here with Revere’s Pete Nance and Garfield Heights’ backcourt of Marreon Jackson and Shawn Christian. However, sophomore forward Brison Waller already has offers from Miami (Ohio) and Cleveland State.
• No. 18 Central Catholic (5-3) vs. Shaker Heights (4-7), 8:30 p.m.: The finale could be an up-and-down game. The Ironmen have won five straight games and boast a talented slew of guards, while Shaker Heights is led by junior point guard Dale Bonner.
As for Graves, he hinted he could have more dunks in store for the crowds. It could come Sunday or another day.
Stay tuned.
PERFORMANCE AND GAME OF THE NIGHT
Elyria charged back from an eight-point halftime deficit to hand No. 7 Mentor its first loss, 74-69. Senior guard Antonio Blanton scored a game-high 28 points, but his rebounding in the final minute propelled the Pioneers.
Jack Korsok led Mentor with 16 points, and four players scored in double figures for the Cardinals
Josh Lotko added 16 points, as four players also reached double digits for Elyria (7-2).
GAME BALLS WINNER
Josh Hufstetler won this week’s Game Balls contest for his 33-point performance last week to lead North Olmsted. Hufstetler and the Eagles won again Friday. His 19-point game led North Olmsted’s 56-49 home win vs. North Ridgeville.
Hufstetler received 992 votes, about 37 percent of 2,648 votes cast for the player of the week contest. He beat out Padua’s Kevin Peterson and St. Ignatius’ Austen Yarian.
BUZZER-BEATER
Chagrin Falls thought it had a road win in the final seconds, but West Geauga walked off victorious, 48-46. See how it happened below.
TOP 25 WATCH
While No. 1 St. Edward and No. 7 Mentor fell on the road, here is what else happened Friday.
No. 2 Lorain 85, Maple Heights 65: Naz Bohannon’s 27 points and nine rebounds led the Titans at home in their Lake Erie League win.
No. 3 Cleveland Heights 54, Shaw 51: The host Cardinals made a fourth-quarter push to challenge Cleveland Heights in their LEL matchup.
No. 5 St. Ignatius 68, Canton GlenOak 46: Fresh off their New Year’s Eve win, the Wildcats cruised at home. Matt Davet scored 19 points, while Austen Yarian added 18 points and 19 rebounds.
No. 8 Medina 92, Shaker Heights 79: The Bees are 11-0 after Jackson Sartain’s 37-point effort led their home win. Medina pushed its lead to double digits in the second quarter. Dale Bonner paced Shaker with 23 points.
No. 9 Archbishop Hoban 59, Walsh Jesuit 26: The Knights kept their North Coast League Blue Division lead with a dominating performance against the Warriors. Junior guard Collen Gurley led the Knights with 22 points.
No. 10 Benedictine 55, Padua 43: The Bengals trail Hoban because of a two-point loss last month to the Knights. Chris Jefferson led them Friday in Parma with 16 points.
La Lumiere School (Ind.) 88, No. 11 Villa Angela-St. Joseph 45: VASJ traveled to Wheeling, W.Va. for this matchup against USA Today’s No. 1-ranked team in the country. Click here for more.
No. 14 Brecksville 47, Wadsworth 42: The Bees overcame Tony Hewitt’s 20-point night for a home win in Suburban League National Division play. Matt Dimitrijevs led Brecksville with 15 points.
No. 15 Holy Name 103, Parma 63: A balanced effort pushed Holy Name to triple digits. No one scored more than 19 points. Dwayne Cohill provided that for the Green Wave, who also got 16 from Sean Hickey and 15 from Malique Burton.
No. 16 Solon 81, Strongsville 61: The Comets bounced back from their Greater Cleveland Conference loss to Mentor with a fast start against Strongsville. Sophomore Michael Bekelja led Solon with 24 points.
No. 17 Ellet 63, Firestone 50: The Orangemen remained perfect in the Akron City Series behind 12 point-efforts by A.J. Gareri and Marquise Bridges.
No. 18 Central Catholic 86, Warren JFK 40: The Ironmen’s fifth straight win included a balanced effort with 14 players scoring. Miryne Thomas had the most with 12 points. Tyler Golphin added 11, Dion Ivory had 10 and Shron Smith added 10.
No. 19 Copley 90, Aurora 44: The Indians remained unbeaten behind a balanced effort, led by Brian Roberts’ 16 points.
No. 20 Lutheran East 68, Lutheran West 49: The Falcons won on the road and overcame Scottie Berghaus’ 24 points.
No. 21 Bay 98, Valley Forge 75: R.J. Sunahara scored 35 points, and the Rockets’ fast pace seized control at Valley Forge.
No. 22 Stow 62, Cuyahoga Falls 44: Logan Lindsay’s 24 points led the Bulldogs to a home win.
No. 24 Brush 68, Riverside 57: Tyler Williams scored 15 points to lead the Arcs.
Berea-Midpark 42, No. 25 Olmsted Falls 37: Chad Elliott’s 24 points led the Titans, who broke a three-way tie atop the Southwestern Conference standings. Berea-Midpark and Avon are now atop the SWC with Olmsted Falls a game behind. Avon is 6-0 after a 30-point win at Lakewood, fueled by Ryan Bertrand’s 21 points.
RARE VICTORY
Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin beat Lake Catholic for the first time since 2013 in both basketball and football. Ryan McMahon scored 18 points to lead the Lions, who dug out of an early hole for a 55-52 win.
CLICK HERE FOR FRIDAY’S SCOREBOARD
FAST FORWARD
As mentioned above, the Play By Play Classic is Sunday, but that’s not all this weekend.
No. 1 St. Edward (7-2) at No. 10 Benedictine (7-1), Saturday: The second game in three days for St. Edward is against another Division II regional finalist from last year. Will the Eagles rebound from their road loss Friday to STVM?
CLICK HERE FOR SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
TOP PLAYS REMINDER
Readers still have this weekend to vote for the top plays of December. The contest will remain open until early next week, and nominations are being accepted for top plays of the week. Email them to mgoul@cleveland.com. Here's a look at the top plays from December.
Click here to cast your vote.
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