A difficult two-game weekend on the road got off to a difficult start for the Mentor Cardinals at Brunswick on Feb. 13.
Micah Potter and Joey Zaugg each scored a game-high 21 points, but Mentor fell to Brunswick, 69-53.
The Blue Devils outscored the Cardinals, 27-5, in the second quarter on the way to victory in the NOC Valley matchup.
“Micah got into foul trouble, and we only had two guys score, so it was a tough night,” Mentor coach Bob Krizancic said.
“Brunswick is big and strong and they hit a lot of shots. We didn’t hit our shots. We had some good looks, but the shots didn’t fall. We need to bounce back, but it doesn’t get any easier at Massillon Jackson on Saturday.”
Mentor (10-8) has lost three games in a row and will try to snap the streak at Massillon Jackson on Valentine’s Day.
The Cardinals led, 15-9, at the end of one quarter, but trailed by 16 at halftime.
Mentor played its sixth consecutive game without point guard Andrew Valeri (thumb injury).
“It will be huge to get Andrew back next week because he provides depth and brings a lot to the lineup, but we have to keep playing hard – no excuses,” Krizancic said. “We get Brunswick again in 11 days at home so we will see.”
Potter and Zaugg combined for 42 points, but the other three starters had just five points total for Mentor. Brunswick improved to 14-4.