Mentor Earns Top Spot in District Tournament

With three games left in a 16-3 season, the Mentor Cardinals have earned the No. 1 seed in the Euclid District bracket of the upcoming 2013 Division I boys basketball tournament.

District play begins for Mentor Feb. 25 with a matchup against Chardon. Mentor's game and three other first-round tilts will be played at Euclid High School, 711 E 222nd St.

If Mentor wins, it would play No. 11 seed Ashtabula Lakeside on March 1. The winner of the Euclid District tournament would play the winner of the Alliance District on March 13.

The state championship will be played March 23 at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus.

A new rule allows teams to go to either side of the bracket after the top two sides go to opposite sides. As a result, seeds three through five are on the side of No. 2 Glenville.

Mentor coach Bob Krizancic told Ohio Varsity that he was just fine with that.

“I thought maybe one of the other teams would come down in to our half, but with the new rule, it didn’t work out that way,” Krizancic said. “I’m happy with our draw.

"For us, the thing we like is playing the first game so we can try to get some of our young kids on the big floor in front of the big crowd at Euclid.”

Before the tournament, the 16-3 Cardinals finish the regular season with a game tonight at Shaker Heights, followed by matchups against Garfield Heights and Brunswick.

Mentor has claimed nine of the last 12 Euclid District titles.