See a photo gallery from the game here. MENTOR, Ohio — Benedictine is going to cause a lot of problems for opponents this basketball season. The Bengals did just that for three quarters Friday night at Mentor.
See a photo gallery from the game here.
MENTOR, Ohio — Benedictine is going to cause a lot of problems for opponents this basketball season. The Bengals did just that for three quarters Friday night at Mentor.
But the Cardinals, ranked No. 1 in The Plain Dealer Top 25, showed how tough they are already by pulling away down the stretch to secure the nonleague victory, 85-74. Benedictine (2-3) came in No. 10 in The Plain Dealer poll.
The Cardinals (4-0) showed they can beat you in a lot of different ways. They connected on 13 3-pointers for the fourth straight game, getting a nice boost from their bench. They also showed the ability to go inside, with junior captain Justin Fritts scoring a game-high 26 points on a variety of moves.
"I probably missed 13 3s myself," said Fritts, who managed two baskets beyond the arc. "I think Danny [Wallack] and Jeff [Foreman] played really well. How about a sophomore coming in and Danny covering [Desmond] Ridenour?"
Trailing, 36-34, at the half, Mentor got a huge contribution from sophomore Foreman as he hit on his first three 3-pointers, the last one putting the Cardinals in front, 54-52. Mentor never gave up the lead after that.
"Don't give me too much credit," said Foreman, who had all his points in the third quarter. "Our philosophy is take shots if they are open. We are shooters. Yeah, I made some."
Wallack, a junior, made one 3-pointer in each quarter for his 12 points. He also had to work against Benedictine junior Ridenour, who led his club with 22 points -- 14 in the first half.
"It's up to me and Jeff to help this team," said Wallack, whose last 3-pointer put the Cardinals up, 65-60.
It was at that juncture that Fritts took over by scoring nine straight points. His 3-pointer capped a 12-0 run that gave Mentor a comfortable 74-60 advantage with 5:15 to play
"In the fourth quarter it was the little things," said Benedictine coach Rob Stircula, who started three juniors and two sophomores. "Our goal was to hold them to nine 3s. We played hard, but that two minutes in the fourth was too much."
After falling behind, 9-0, the Bengals ran off 14 straight points and held a 22-20 lead after the first quarter. With some good size in 6-8 sophomore Mark Williams and 6-6 junior Mike Roberts, Benedictine was hoping to slow down the contest to its liking.
But the Cardinals used their pressure tactics for turnovers and transition baskets to never let matters get out of hand.
"The third quarter was huge for us," said Mentor coach Bob Krizancic, whose club went 13-for-35 on 3-pointers. "We never gave up the lead after we got it. We aren't as good a team in the halfcourt as we are in transition. Our guys off the bench did a great job."
Senior guard Cole Krizancic had 14 points for the Cardinals, with senior Colin Barth adding nine points.
Benedictine's Williams scored 19 points, 11 in the second half. Junior Winston Grays had 10 points and Roberts finished with nine.
The Bengals did not take a 3-pointer until the fourth quarter, finishing 1-for-5 from the distance.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:jmaxse@plaind.com, 216-999-5168