Mentor has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They had to suffer through a 98-65 loss at the hands of the Strongsville Mustangs. While losing is never fun, the Cardinals can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 68th, while the Mustangs are ranked 19th).
Despite the loss, Mentor still got an impressive performance from Kobe Frasure-Azzano, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and ten rebounds. Ayo Olulami was another key player, going 5 for 12 on his way to 14 points.

Cardinals
| 01/07/25 vs Strongsville | 65-98 |
| 01/03/25 @ Cleveland Heights | 70-78 |
Even though they lost, Mentor smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 35 consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Mentor's loss ended a 12-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 6-3. As for Strongsville, the win keeps them at an undefeated 10-0.
Mentor will head out to take on Brunswick at 6:15 p.m. on Friday. Mentor knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past nine matches -- so hopefully Brunswick likes a good challenge. As for Strongsville, they will welcome Shaker Heights at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Strongsville is facing Shaker Heights at the right time seeing as Shaker Heights is stuck on a six-game losing streak.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps