[LitlBuck]

Thursday, March 16, 2006 Eddie Dwyer

Plain Dealer Reporter
Canton -- As the other half of Strongsville's "Kyle combo," senior guard Kyle Cobb said: "We just weren't going to give up. This is our year."
No matter how this year ends, Cobb, all-district senior forward Kyle Brown and the rest of the Mustangs will be remembered for going further than any other boys basketball team in Strongsville history.
The Mustangs, on the strength of two free throws by Brown with 3.4 seconds left, six 3-pointers by Cobb and the hustle of senior post Nick Bendzuck, stunned St. Edward, 65-63, Wednesday night in a Division I boys basketball regional semifinal at the Memorial Civic Center.
Strongsville, which trailed by 12 points early in the fourth quarter, improved to 20-4 and advanced to Saturday's 7:30 p.m. regional championship game at the University of Toledo. The Mustangs will make their first Elite Eight appearance against perennial Toledo power St. John's Jesuit (20-5).
"It's every high school kid's dream," said Brown after he calmly canned the clutch free throws and finished with a team-best 27 points, 16 in the second half.
The Mustangs started strong. On the strength of a layup by Brown off a steal, an assist by Bendzuck and a 3-pointer by Brown, they led, 12-2, with 4:24 remaining in the opening quarter.
A three-point play by sophomore forward Tim Kamczyc and a reverse layup along the baseline by Brown pushed Strongsville's lead to 15 points.
St. Edward (19-5), which had difficulty with the Mustangs' pressure in the early going, seemed to come to life offensively when all-district sophomore post Delvon Roe slammed home two points on the last play of the first quarter.
Trailing by 13 points after the first eight minutes, the Eagles went on a 14-2 run that featured a soft, driving one-hander by senior guard Reid Anderson, a steal and slam dunk by Roe, a 3-pointer by Anderson and two more slams by Roe. The 6-8 Roe led all scorers with 28 points.
With Roe continuing to hurt Strongsville down low, St. Edward led by 10 points entering the final eight minutes. Cobb's fourth 3-pointer made it a nine-point game, but Roe countered with a three-point play and the Eagles had a 12-point cushion early in the final quarter.
The Mustangs, picking up their defensive pressure again and riding three key 3-pointers, including one by junior guard Nate Korinchak and two more by Cobb, cut the deficit to 62-61 on a three-point play by Brown with 55.8 seconds remaining.
Champion of the Pioneer Conference, Strongsville then offset eight pressure free throws by St. Edward junior guard Matt Salay with a layup by senior guard Jacob Prahst off a steal and an assist by Bendzuck, who saved the ball along the baseline in the final six seconds.
Eagles coach Eric Flannery, who watched his team's 13-game winning streak get snapped, praised the Mustangs for "busting their butts and never quitting."