The Mentor Cardinals were the 91-79 winner over the Medina Battling Bees when they last played one another back in December of 2023, but their luck changed this time around. Mentor took a 73-62 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Battling Bees on Friday. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Mentor has scored all season.
Despite the loss, Mentor still got an impressive performance from Ian Ioppolo, who dropped a double-double on 23 points and 12 rebounds. Ioppolo is crushing the point category: he's posted at least 20 every time he's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Matthew Biddell, who scored 14 points along with eight rebounds and six assists.
Mentor has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-6 record this season. As for Medina, the victory got them back to even at 8-8.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Mentor won't have much time to rest: their next game is against the Scarabs at 6:00 p.m. on February 3rd. East Tech will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Ohio Rankings (they are ranked 361st, while the Cardinals are ranked 43rd). As for Medina, they will stay at home for another game and welcome the Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on February 6th. Perry is no doubt hoping to put an end to a four-game streak of away losses.
