No. 12 Shaker Heights hands No. 4 Mentor first loss, 69-66

MENTOR, Ohio — Shaker Heights has a little more than a week to make its case for the top seed in its district tournament.

So does Mentor, which Shaker is chasing in the Greater Cleveland Conference boys basketball standings.

Shammah Scott's go-ahead, baseline jump shot with about 21 seconds left Tuesday night at Mentor pulled Shaker Heights closer to both. Scott scored 22 points and Shaker handed Mentor its first loss of the season, 69-66.

"We're going for the No. 1 seed," said Scott, whose school last had that distinction in the 2015 district tournament. "That's been our minds the whole time."

Shaker, ranked No. 12 in the cleveland.com Top 25, made its case to teams that play in the Division I tournament at Solon. The Red Raiders (11-4, 7-2 GCC) also pulled within a game of No. 4 Mentor (12-1, 8-1) in their conference title chase.

"We want this conference, but that seeding … we think about seeding and the conference championship," said junior forward Dakota Cochran, who added 16 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. "We've got to be in the gym because we can't practice, so we've got to get in some gym and get up shots to beat Euclid on Friday and hope for a good seeding."

Euclid (9-5, 6-3) isn't too far back, either, after it took down Solon with a 91-76 home victory.

Most schools, including Shaker, are not expected to have school for at least Wednesday with temperatures forecast to be slightly above or below zero. That is why Cochran is eager to find another gym, considering he cannot use the one at school.

Shaker beat Euclid the first time they met on the road, but the Raiders also lost to Mentor when they last met Dec. 14. The Cardinals left with an 80-79 win. Since then, Danny Young's Raiders have won 10 of their last 11 games.

"We're going to keep riding this wave," Young said. "Keep getting better, and stay humble and hungry."

Shaker jumped out to a 12-0 lead Tuesday, but Mentor shot right back and pulled even. The host Cardinals' lead bubbled to seven points, until Shaker pulled closer in the final four minutes.

The Raiders did not lead for most of the second quarter and all of the second half until Scott's go-ahead jumper. He said the play was designed for him to drive toward the basket, which he did, but a defender cut him off.

"I didn't see any other options for me to pass the ball to make the play," Scott said, "so I just trusted myself and shot the shot."

In addition to Scott and Cochran, freshman guard Danny Young Jr. added 10 points. Forwards Eric Mudd and Harry Carroll, who seldom take jump shots or have designed plays, each knocked down 3-pointers to spur Shaker's fourth-quarter comeback.

The Raiders needed them, playing without junior forward and leading rebounder Dante Benjamin. Mudd, a 6-foot-6 junior, added seven rebounds. Scott, another junior, used his 6-2 frame to grab six rebounds.

Of course, Shaker needed everything it got from Scott.

"We noticed that they were face-guarding Danny and Dakota, so we told other guys to be aggressive," Young Sr. said. "I've got some good guards."

So does Mentor. That is why Young said he was not surprised to see the Cardinals storm back after the early run. Junior guard Luke Floriea led Mentor with 22 points, while junior forward Chad Rogers added 20 points and 10 rebounds. Junior reserve Caleb Piks added 12 rebounds, including seven in a pivotal second quarter.

Coach Bob Krizancic's squad looks to rebound Friday at Solon, last year's Division I state finalist that is coming off that loss to Euclid. The Cardinals follow that up Saturday with a visit from Lakota East, the only team that has remained within single digits of undefeated defending state champion Cincinnati Moeller.

"It's a brutal week for us," Krizancic said. "We've got to grow up, and I told them the only positive is this wasn't a tournament game."

The coach has high expectations for this team, and this loss brought back memories of his 2013 state championship team. That squad lost five times before its title run.

"Our losses made us better," Krizancic said. "We'll see if this one makes us better."

Shaker showed it is getting better. It didn't have a No. 1 district tournament seed last year but still reached the regional semifinals. Except for Cochran, most of this team did not experience that run.

Yet those new players, including Scott, are focused on making their own. Scott came over from Villa Angela-St. Joseph.

"We put the work in and listen to our coaches," he said. "We trust them for us to get better."

Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on Twitter (@mgoul) or email ([email protected]). Or log in and leave a message below in the comments section.