Boys HS Basketball: Big Third Quarter The Difference as Solon Tops Mentor 71-65

This game recap is brought to you by the fine people at Nurenberg Paris.  You can visit them below.

Homepage

MENTOR, OHIO – A third quarter where Solon outscored Mentor by 12 points was the game changer Friday night. Solon would go on to defeat the Cardinals, 71-65 in a GCC matchup at Mentor to remain unbeaten not only on the season, but in the conference as well.

Beating a team like Mentor during the regular season is not an easy task and coach DeCesare knows that. The win Friday night is the second win of the year against the Cardinals, and that is a big accomplishment for his team.

“To be able to beat them once is great,” he said. “Twice is a testament to where we’re at as a team this year and where our program is headed.”

Mentor would start off with the lead and would sustain the advantage early on. A Sincere Carry 3-pointer put Solon within five points with just under a minute left in the second quarter.

Carry later found Trent Williams under the basket for an easy layup that would have them trailing by three points heading into halftime. Carry would pace the Solon offense during the first 16 minutes as he contributed with 15 of the teams 27 points.

The third quarter is where the game was ultimately decided. Junior guard Trent Williams found his touch. He would come out of halftime firing up shots behind the arc which was the spark Solon needed. Williams would go on to hit back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers that would give the Comets an 11 point lead at the time.

That lead was big enough to sustain for Solon and they never looked back after the 29-point third quarter. Trent Williams would end up finishing the game with 20 points.

“We have the ability, because of the amount of shooters we have, to go on big runs,” Coach DeCesare said on why his team has the ability to go on important runs deep into games.

Mentor couldn’t find any room in the fourth quarter to get within five points of Solon. The stellar shooting from Sincere Carry at the free throw line sealed the deal for Solon. He would end the night with a game-high 26 points while making 13 of his 14 free throws.

“He’s as good as it gets in high school basketball,” coach Tony DeCesare said. “With him on the floor, we always have the best player but we also have a leader in a guy that can kind of weather the storm a little bit.”

Shane Zalba lead Mentor Friday night as he had a team-high 25 points. Tadas Tatarunas contributed with 15 points along with Matt Koski’s 10 points.