All season long, Mentor’s “Big 3” of Ian Ioppolo, Matthew Biddell and Ryan Ioppolo have done most of the scoring.
Sophomore Kobe Frasure-Azzano is making his case to expand the group to a “Big 4.”
Frasure-Azzano had one of his strongest offensive games of the season, scoring 16 points to go with five rebounds, to join the “Big 3” in double figures as the Cardinals knocked off visiting rival Euclid, 72-57, on Jan. 20.
It wasn’t a season high for Frasure-Azzano, who scored 18 in a game earlier this season. And as the Cardinals’ leading rebounder at 10.7 per game, he’s almost averaging a double-double.
But his emergence as a part of the offense gives Mentor another weapon for opponents to be concerned with.
“I was just getting looks, to be honest,” Frasure-Azzano said of his success. “Getting to the rim, crashing the boards, getting it on defense.”
@CardinalCage sophomore Kobe Frasure-Azzano, who scored 16 points, breaks down Mentor’s 72-57 win over Euclid pic.twitter.com/CxwYj0Kkrf
— Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) January 21, 2023
Biddell led the way with a game-high 21 points, 15 of which came before halftime. Ian Ioppolo added 20, and Ryan Ioppolo chipped in 12.
Behind some early sharp-shooting by sophomore Thai Duncan, who scored nine of his team-high 15 points in the first quarter, Euclid took an 18-10 first-quarter lead.
Mentor (10-3, 5-1 GCC) grabbed the lead, for good as it turned out, on Ian Ioppolo’s 3 off a pass from sophomore Marcus Sierputowski, making it 27-26 in favor of the Cardinals with 2:25 left before halftime.
That triple was part of a 14-2 run to end the half in which Mentor was able to speed up the game that gave it a 36-28 halftime lead. Ioppolo scored the first seven points of that spurt, and Biddell had the last seven, which included one of his patented left-handed drives to the basket and a layup in transition.
“Their defense in the first quarter was really good,” Biddell said of Euclid. “In the second quarter we picked up the pace. You know how Coach K is. He wants to score 90, or 100 points a game.
“Ten points in a quarter isn’t always the best, but in the second quarter we came out, hit some shots, ran some good plays and got some open looks that we liked.”
@CardinalCage junior Matthew Biddell, who had a game-high 21 points, discusses the Cardinals’ 72-57 win over rival Euclid pic.twitter.com/6wGAADcreR
— Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) January 21, 2023
Euclid (6-9, 0-6) got to within 40-34 in the third frame when Michael Moore sank two free throws, but Mentor had the tempo the way it wanted it at that point.
The Cardinals stretched their lead to 54-42 at the end of the third and stayed ahead by double digits throughout the fourth quarter, scoring on inside buckets, in transition or from outside.
Xavier Vann joined Duncan in double figures with 12 points for Euclid, while Anthony Moore and Myckel Davis each had nine. The Panthers were careful with the ball, turning it over just six times, but hit just 40% of their shots from the field (22 of 55) and were outrebounded, 32-23.
“Mentor played really well,” Euclid coach Tom Parker said. “They have two players that can really score. We tried to mix some things up, but they just kept having success. We have to play better on defense.
“We’ve got some work to do. We have to watch some film and get back to the drawing board. Just figuring it out. I just think Mentor was the better team today.”
@EUCPanthers coach Tom Parker talks about Euclid’s 72-57 loss to Mentor pic.twitter.com/wlzm4gN8G4
— Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) January 21, 2023
Mentor shot the ball well again, converting 28 of 51 from the field (55%) and sinking 6 of 18 from 3-point range. The Cardinals have won three straight and six of their last seven.
“We went straight man (defense) in the first quarter, and probably should have used a zone trap earlier,” Mentor coach Bob Krizancic said of the early struggles. “We look lethargic when we’re not hitting (shots). In the second quarter, we got into our full-court press, and I think that changed the tempo of the game.”
@CardinalCage coach Bob Krizancic goes over Mentor’s 72-57 win over Euclid pic.twitter.com/5RTI2Z0Ek7
— Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) January 21, 2023
In addition to Frasure-Azzano picking up his scoring, Sierputowski continued to provide valuable minutes off the bench for Mentor. Although the 5-foot-10 sophomore only scored one point, he contributed four assists, finding Frasure-Azzano under the hoop three times for scores, and added three steals.
“Marcus has given us great, great energy for a sophomore,” Krizancic said. “I thought that with the basketball, he made some really good decisions. I just love coaching him because he plays at one speed, and that’s full go.”
@CardinalCage Bob Krizancic gives his thoughts on Mentor’s 72-57 win over Euclid (Part 2) pic.twitter.com/9of9AREvKO
— Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) January 21, 2023
Euclid has a week off before traveling to Strongsville on Jan. 27. Mentor will be back in action Jan. 21, hosting Cornerstone Christian in the first Pat Langdon Classic, honoring the late founder of local media outlet Talk Back Fans.
