The Mustangs clinched their second victory of the season on last Friday night beating the Solon Comets in Strongsville by a score of 61-54. It was a great all around team effort with balanced scoring. Senior guard Kyle Meehan lead the Mustangs with 14 points. Big men sophomore Alex Barnes and junior Brandon Bailey combined for 22 points. Also contributing to the Mustangs were young sophomores Alex Ruch with 8 points and Drew Robertson with 9 points, as Drew continued with his solid play. The underclassmen show the Mustangs have a strong core group for the next couple of years. Junior swingman John Mcnelis said “It feels good to get a win in front of our home crowd”.

     The Mustangs followed the nice win with a trip to highly ranked Mentor to face the Cardinals earlier this week on Tuesday night. After losing by 50 in the prior meeting, the Mustangs were hoping to improve their performance but faced a daunting task playing Mentor at home with the addition of sharp shooter Brandon Fritts, who missed the first encounter. The Mustangs played excellent in the first half as they went into the locker room down only 2 points 47-45 at halftime. The game slipped away in the second half as Mentor won by a final score of 106-93 in a shoot-out. Although the Mustangs lost it was a monumental improvement over the first game. Every Mustang contributed as everyone who played scored. Paving the way for the Mustangs was again, senior guard Kyle Meehan with 22 points and sophomore big man Alex Barnes continued his growth by dropping in 19. Mcnelis said “It feels good to bounce back from a tough loss earlier in the year and show that we can hang in with a tough team like Mentor”.  Strongsville looks to carry on with their development against Shaker this Friday and try and grab another win. 

     A bloody battle between the Mustangs and the Brush Arcs last Tuesday left the Mustangs in a heartbreaking defeat.  In a double overtime thriller the Mustangs lost by a score of 84 to 79.  Playing well for the Mustangs was senior guard Kyle Meehan with 25 points but his effort could not overcome Brush’s clutch play down the stretch.  With senior guard Josh Richissin out with a concussion sustained during practice, the Mustangs were short handed but battled hard anyway. Junior swing man John McNelis found out how hard the battle was when he was elbowed in the head in the final minutes of the game, sending him across town to Southwest General Emergency room for stitches, and sidelined him for the next two weeks with a concussion after failing the Impact test the next day.  Sophomore big man Alex Barnes also had to sit down for awhile during the game with a cut on his elbow but managed to drop in 20 points. 

     The Mustangs went south to face their rival the Brunswick Blue Devils in Brunswick on Friday night.  But with the Mustangs shorthanded with both John McNelis and Josh Richissin out with concussions, the Mustangs were blown out by a score of 74-48. Leading scores were Kyle Meehan and sophomore Drew Robertson both with 12 points.  During the game, we briefly saw some minutes by freshman point guard Sean Aske showing a bright future for the Mustangs. Strongsville’s next game is against Medina on Friday at the end of midterm week.

The Mustangs grabbed their first victory last Tuesday when they defeated Stow-Monroe Falls by a score of 65-54.  Playing well for the Mustangs was point guard Kyle Meehan with 20 points and junior swingman Tommy Krokey who chipped in with 16 points. It was a big win for the Mustangs.  Junior shooting guard John McNelis said “It felt good to overcome adversity after starting off the season 0-3.  We practiced so hard, and I felt like we deserve that victory.  It was fun to watch Meehan and Krokey do so well.”  The “roundball rowdies” continued to support the Mustangs and were into the game.  The rowdies have stuck with them through hard times and were very proud to see the Mustangs get their first victory.  Rowdy Junior Tony Machnik said “I go to the games to support my friends.  It was horrible to see them start off so badly, but it felt good to see them get their first victory”.  

That feeling of victory, however, was short lived when Mustangs took on Mentor at home on Friday night.  They were blown out by a score of 106 to 56.  Mentor (2-0) is one of the best teams in the conference, so the Mustangs knew it was going to be a difficult game. It was especially disappointing since the Mustangs started off well, being down only 4 after the first quarter 19-15, but then collapsed in the rest of the game.  Leading scorers for the Mustangs were Kyle Meehan with 13 and Junior center Brandon Bailey with 11. Up next for the Mustangs is the Shaker Heights High Tigers (2-1), the number one ranked team in the region, on their home territory.  Junior John Mcnelis said “Shaker is a well rounded team with tall and athletic players.  We need to outwork them in order to win the game.”  Clearly, Strongsville will have to play their best basketball of the year and bring a strong defensive effort to beat this tough Shaker team.

On December 4, the Mustangs played their first home game against Twinsburg. They lost by a score of 51 to 79.  Kyle Meehan led the Mustangs by 12 points, and sophomore Alex Barnes added 7, showing signs of improvement. 

On Nov 30 your Strongsville Mustangs traveled to Olmsted Falls for the first game of the season.  They lost by a score of 75 to 96.  Kyle Meehan led the mustangs with 18 points.  Junior Tom Krokey added 12 points and sophomore Drew Robertson chipped in 11 points in the loss.