Mentor making district final return after holding off Solon, 60-58

EUCLID, Ohio — Mentor coach Bob Krizancic is not shy about his praise for his backcourt.

Those guards again lifted the Cardinals on Wednesday night in their Division I district semifinal at Euclid, particularly down the stretch for a 60-58 win vs. Solon.

Luke Floriea's rebound off a missed free throw. Luke Chicone's rebound off another missed free throw. Both pulled in loose balls off vital opportunities for the fifth-seeded Comets (16-9) in the final three minutes.

At the other end, Alex Edwards — Mentor's third quarter in the backcourt equation — made the most of his chances at the line. He sank all four of his free throws down the stretch; two trips coming in one-and-one situations to send the top-seeded Cardinals (22-2) to their 11th district final in 12 years.

"It's not two, it's three," Krizancic said. "Luke and Luke get the publicity, but Alex Edwards is unsung because of the defensive effort and hustle."

Typically assigned to the opposing point guard, Edwards also handled inbounding duties as an added pressure down the stretch when Solon scored and Comets coach Tony DeCesare followed with timeouts.

"He was as cool as you can be," Krizancic said. "You're either going home or you're moving on, and those four free throws were huge. He took the ball out against the pressure. He was like an experienced three-year starter."

The 5-foot-11 senior finished with 12 points. Junior forward Chad Rogers added a game-high 22 points with 12 rebounds, including the go-ahead basket with about 3:15 left.

Solon never went away. Neither Rogers nor Edwards said they expected it, considering the Comets brought back four starters from last year's state final team.

Edwards just kept calm.

"I've been in the gym for months now," he said, "taking the same shots over and over again. It was just like being in an empty gym."

Neither team could build much of a lead. Solon, which entered with a seven-game win streak since a Feb. 1 loss to the Cardinals, jumped out to an early advantage. Mentor pulled ahead by seven at one point in the second quarter, but neither team could pad its lead by more than four points after that.

Senior forward Nick Close led Solon with 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in his final game. Guard Trent Williams, who missed nine games through an 83-68 loss last month to Mentor, added 13 points.

"They were everything we could have wanted of a group over the last four years," DeCesare said. "We were fortunate as a staff to get to coach them and that will be what all the following classes will be measured against."

Solon met Mentor in the last three district championships at Euclid, winning two of them.

"What they accomplished," DeCesare said, "considering where the program was when they arrived to the high school is truly remarkable."

The task of challenging Mentor on Saturday night in the district final will belong to second-seeded Brush (20-3) or Cleveland Heights (13-10), which meet on Thursday night at Euclid.

Whoever it is, the focus could be on Floriea. The 5-10 junior point guard had 20 points, including four 3-pointers and a buzzer-beating shot before halftime from the elbow Wednesday night.

The focus also could be on Chicone, the creative sophomore guard. Whoever it is, that team cannot forget about Edwards. Krizancic said he thinks his backcourt is the best in the state, high praise from a coach who saw this program to a state championship in 2013. The catch is, he includes the senior of the group.

Edwards provided some reminders why.

"We're all just trying to do our part to bring home another state championship," he said.

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