High school basketball: Mentor boys escape challenge by Jackson with win

TWINSBURG — Extremely physical, unintimidated and hungry to prove it belonged Wednesday, Massillon Jackson's boys basketball team had Mentor on the ropes with three minutes remaining in a Twinsburg Division I Regional semifinal. The Cardinals failed to score 70 points for only the third time this season. What the Polar Bears failed to accomplish, however, was knocking Mentor from the ranks of the unbeaten. With star point guard Luke Chicone all but sealing the game at the foul line with 31.1 second remaining, the Cardinals escaped 60-53 to play fellow Greater Cleveland Conference member Medina at 2 p.m. Saturday with a berth to the state tournament on the line. Mentor (24-0), which only committed three turnovers, led 50-48 with three minutes to play, and Jackson (23-4) allowed the Cardinals to burn block. The score eventually reached 54-52, and the ball zipped around the perimeter before the Polar Bears were forced to foul Youngstown State recruit Chicone. Chicone calmly made both ends sandwiched around a Jackson timeout. The Polar Bears then committed a traveling violation, and Jonah Waag broke free for a game-sealing dunk. Chicone had only one field goal in the second half but finished with a game-high 23 points on 5-of-12 field goals and 11-of-13 free throws to go with five rebounds and four assists. Villa Angela-St. Joseph transfer Waag scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half, while Euclid transfer Steven Key contributed 12 points and 6-foot-5 Duquesne kicking recruit Andrew Smith had a timely seven points and three offensive rebounds. Jackson, whose other losses came to Canton McKinley (twice) and Green in Federal League play, got 19 points from physical guard Ben Sullivan, 13 from guard Kevin James and nine and nine rebounds from 6-7 center Jovan Jovicic. The final score represented the largest margin of the night, as the Polar Bears didn't back down despite losing point guard Michael Skeriotis (5 points) for most of the first quarter with foul trouble and soon thereafter starting power forward Alex Graybill to a leg injury. Jackson kept grinding behind Sullivan, James and Jovicic — 6-5 post Owen Woolbert (6 points, 4 rebounds) also had key scores — and trailed only 34-31 at halftime. After Chicone beat the defense with pull-up 3-pointers to set up left-side driving lanes, the Polar Bears shored up against the lightning-quick point guard and slowed tempo to their favor. They trimmed the deficit to 48-46 after three quarters and 50-48 on a bucket by Sullivan. With momentum in its corner, Jackson failed to capitalize by committing two turnovers and missing a floater despite holding Mentor scoreless. A Waag score moved the Mentor lead to 52-48, but Sullivan quickly countered. The Polar Bears' chances took a serious hit when Key was sent to the line with 1:09 left and missed the front end of a one-and-one but grabbed his own rebound and scored to make the score 54-50. Sullivan again scored to keep Jackson afloat before Chicone drove the nail closer to its final destination with his free throws. Physicality was definitely the theme, as the teams combined for 36 fouls and 41 free throws. The Cardinals shot 19-for-39 from the floor and 18-for-25 at the line, while Jackson was 20-for-33 and 8-for-16. The Cardinals' 60 points were their third fewest of the season, trailing 54 at Hudson on Jan. 29 and 58 against St. Ignatius on Feb. 20. They are still averaging 85.3 for the season. Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com. Mentor 60, Jackson 53 JACKSON&emsp;&emsp;12 19 15 7 — 53 MENTOR&emsp;&emsp;19 15 14 12 — 60 Jackson — Ben Sullivan 7-11 2-4 19, Alex Graybill 0-0 0-0 0, Jovan Jovicic 3-6 3-4 9, Kevin James 6-8 0-0 13, Michael Skeriotis 2-5 0-0 5, Johnny Kulich 0-1 1-2 1, Owen Woolbert 2-2 2-6 6, Mack Kislter 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 20-33 8-16 53. Mentor — Kyle Culler 0-3 0-0 0, Jonah Waag 7-10 1-1 16, Andrew Smith 3-5 1-3 7, Steven Key 4-9 3-6 12, Luke Chicone 5-12 11-13 23, Ian Kipp 0-0 2-2 2, Cael Gray 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 19-39 18-25 60. 3-point goals — Jackson 5-9 (Sullivan 3-4, James 1-1, Skeriotis 1-2, Kulich 0-1, Jovicic 0-1), Mentor 4-14 (Chicone 2-5, Waag 1-2, Key 1-4, Smith 0-1, Culler 0-2). Rebounds — Jackson 21 (Jovicic 9), Mentor 17 (Chicone 5). Assists — Jackson 6 (James 3), Mentor 6 (Chicone 5). Turnovers — Jackson 8 (Woolbert, James 2), Mentor 3 (Chicone, Key, Waag). Fouls — Jackson 20, Mentor 16. Fouled out — None. Records — Jackson (23-4), Mentor (24-0).