March 10, 2022
Copley, Ohio
OHSAA Boys Division 1 Regional Semifinal
Mentor 12 20 15 13 = 60
Lakewood St. Edward 3 22 19 25 = 69
St. Edward, featuring a breathtaking performance by senior guard Michael Bova, put the clamps on Mentor in the fourth quarter and emerged with a 69-60 victory on Thursday evening. The Eagles will advance to Saturday’s regional championship game vs. Akron Archbishop Hoban at Copley High School.
Mentor got off to a strong start, forcing three early St. Ed turnovers and holding a 12-3 lead after one quarter. But the Eagles righted the ship in the second. Junior forward Danny Lavelle gave them a spark off the bench with 7 points, and Bova connected for 10 points in the period. Meanwhile, Mentor senior forward Sean Collins paced the Cardinals’ offensive production with 10 first-half points.
The third quarter was evenly played, but St. Edward scored the last four points to cut the Mentor lead to 47-44. Eagles senior guard Zyion Freer-Brown scored the final basket of the third, and then led off the fourth quarter with two more buckets to give St. Ed their first lead at 48-47.
Following Freer-Brown’s heroics, the Eagles’ defense took over. Mentor’s prolific offense struggled to score as St. Edward forced 7 fourth-quarter turnovers. The Cardinals got within 3 at 63-60 on a 3-point shot by sophomore guard Ian Ioppolo with 1:30 to play, but the Eagles went 6-for-6 at the foul line to close out the scoring.
Bova scored 28 points, going 11-for-12 from the field and 6-for-9 at the line to lead the Eagles’ offense. Freer-Brown added 13, and Lavelle finished with 9. Junior forward Cam Grant canned 3 important baskets in the third quarter and scored 9 points.
Ioppolo with 17 and Collins with 16 led the scoring for Mentor. Sophomore guard Matthew Biddell added 13.
Mentor
Ioppolo, I. 6 – 0/0 – 17
Collins 8 – 0/2 – 16
Biddell 5 – 2/2 – 13
Ioppolo, R. 3 – 0/0 – 8
Ferritto 2 – 2/2 – 6
Field Goals: 24/52, 46% 3-Point Shots: 8/22, 36% Free Throws: 4/6, 67%
Rebounds: 31 Turnovers: 14
Lakewood St. Edward
Bova 11 – 6/9 – 28
Freer-Brown 4 – 4/4 – 13
Grant 3 – 2/2 – 9
Lavelle 4 – 0/0 – 9
Knight 3 – 0/0 – 6
Henry 1 – 0/0 – 2
Solomon 0 – 2/2 – 2
Reynolds 0 – 0/0 – 0
Field Goals: 26/54, 48% 3-Point Shots: 3/13, 23% Free Throws: 14/17, 82%
Rebounds: 30 Turnovers: 8
By: Don DiFrancesco @MayorNEOPrep
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