No. 4 Mentor sets regular-season wins record in 60-52 crosstown victory vs. No. 18 Lake Catholic

MENTOR, Ohio — Luke Floriea nearly turned as red as the trim on his jersey when he bounced up off the floor Saturday night in Mentor.

The 5-foot-10 junior guard just drew a pivotal charge in the fourth quarter that sent the Cardinals on their way to a 60-52 win against neighboring Lake Catholic. His reaction, more potent than the contact, came after 6-foot-7 Luka Eller tried to maneuver around Floriea in mid-air. He grazed Floriea just enough to pick up his fifth foul after the guard fell backward with 5:01 to go.

"I saw him coming down the lane. I didn't move for a while," said Floriea, who scored a game-high 28 points. "I didn't think he was going to run into me, but then he happened to bump into me."

Eller exited with 20 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. A costly call? Yes. A controversial call? Even Lake Catholic coach Matt Moran held back any dismay afterward.

Ultimately, this night was about so much more.

Mentor (19-2), ranked fourth in the cleveland.com Top 25, set a program record for wins in the regular season in front of a jam-packed crowd that flooded the lower and second levels of its gym. Many came to see the Cardinals, but plenty were there for No. 18 Lake Catholic (17-5), located just three miles west.

These schools had not met in nine years. Both have deep state tournament aspirations, and came away with reasons to believe they can achieve them.

For Mentor, it's the defense.

"Everyone thinks Mentor is not a defensive team," Floriea said, "and we're just an offense that shoots 3s, but I don't think we had one 3 in the second half. We showed that we can play D."

For Lake Catholic, it's the situations that could arise in the postseason. The Cougars trailed from start to finish, but closed the gap with Eller on the bench.

"We lean on him a lot for a lot of things," Moran said. "One positive you take away from this loss is we were able to still compete against a very, very good basketball team with him on the bench."

Without Eller, junior guard Luke Frazier scored nine of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and pulled Lake Catholic within six points at one point. Shorthanded against a bigger — at least without Eller — opponent, Mentor pulled away with Floriea darting around the court.

Floriea ran to his teammates once the final buzzer sounded. That included senior forward Mason Trubisky, who scored 15 points with 10 rebounds and two blocks, plus junior Chad Rogers, who added another seven points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

They jumped out to a 9-0 lead, led by 11 at halftime and 10 after the third quarter. Once the buzzer sounded, the school record belonged to one of the more inexperienced teams coach Bob Krizancic has had in his 26 seasons.

Even Mentor's 2013 state championship won only 16 games in the regular season.

"It's special," Krizancic said, "especially being young."

Floriea is his only returning starter. Others earned little playing time a year ago, when Mentor won 17 games on its way to a district final appearance.

"We didn't have a lot of scoring coming back," said Krizancic, whose team can add to this season's 19-win total Tuesday at Massillon Jackson. "We didn't have a lot of experience coming back. Alex Edwards is playing great, Caleb Piks is playing great."

Krizancic is so pleased with his guard play, which includes Floriea, Edwards and sophomore Luke Chicone, that he proclaimed them to be the best guards in the state. He has hinted that before this season, but believes this run further cements that belief.

They had just one turnover in the first half in front of the big crowd.

"This is probably the most fun I've had in a basketball game in my life," Floriea said. "It was just cool to see the gym filled up. I have a bunch of a friends on Lake Catholic. It was just a cool night."

Floriea has played AAU with a few of them, too, including Chicone and Frazier.

Imagine that backcourt.

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