EUCLID, OHIO – The Euclid Panthers defeated the Mentor Cardinals by a score of 87-83 Tuesday night. The win now improves the Panthers record to an even .500 at 5-5. The loss bumps the record of Mentor to 5-4 on the year.
Senior guard Emari Baddour led the way for Euclid as he had a team-high 27 points. Most of the damage was done at the free throw line where he went 16-23.
“Emari got in the zone,” coach T.J. Kwasniak said. “The kids were saying that we need to get Emari the ball at the end and he was pretty much nails at the line.”
Will Sanders, Garvin Clarke, and Reggie Priah each contributed with double-digit points for the Panthers.
It’s not often Euclid beats Mentor. It hasn’t happened in at least 10 years. The streak finally ended Tuesday night with first-year coach Kwasniak leading the Panthers.
“To get a win like that against a quality program like that, you have to play well and we did,” Kwasniak said.
Mentor held a slight 24-18 lead after the first quarter. Early on in the second quarter Mentor would extend that lead to 12 points following an inbound steal and a 3-pointer by senior Chad Blessing.
As the quarter went on, the Panthers would fight back and eventually tie things up heading into halftime. Euclid went on a 10-4 run to end the second quarter which was the spark they needed after falling behind early in the game.
This was a game of runs for both teams. Euclid would head into the final eight minutes of the game with a three-point lead.
“They’re very athletic,” coach Krizancic said about Euclid. “They play hard. We gave up a lot of cheap buckets. I think our goal is to get tougher and to take care of the basketball.”
Euclid held an 11-point lead at various times during the fourth quarter. Mentor kept inching their way back late in the game but clutch free throws from Emari made it more difficult for a Mentor comeback near the end of the game.
The lead got to just three points with less than 30 seconds left to play but Euclid would hang on to secure a four-point victory over Mentor.
“It feels good,” Baddour said about beating Mentor. “We haven’t beaten them since my sophomore year. It’s a great accomplishment.”
For Mentor, Matt Koski had a game-high 29 points as he went a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line as well. Luke Floriea contributed in a big way with 15 points followed up by Mason Trubisky’s 11 points.
Next up for the Cardinals is a matchup at Medina on Friday night. As for Euclid, they’ll look to continue their win streak and get above .500 when they travel out to Elyria Friday night.
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