Hubbard capsizes Liberty

Marc Kanetsky andDexter Bledsoe combined for 54 points.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
HUBBARD -- Hubbard's Marc Kanetsky has a baby face and a 1970s haircut. He looks every bit like a sophomore.
He just doesn't play like one.
Especially in the fourth quarter.
Kanetsky scored 28 points for the Eagles on Friday night but he saved his best work for the final eight minutes, scoring 14 points and making all seven of his free throws.
"Hey, they're free, I guess." he said. "That's what I like to say."
Take that laid-back attitude, add in 25 points from junior Dexter Bledsoe and a whole bunch of hustle and what do you get?
A big upset in the Trumbull Athletic Conference.
Final score: Hubbard 78, Liberty 76.
"It's going to be a shock around the TAC," Kanetsky said.
Added his coach, Tom King, "This could be a turning point. We're a young team and we're building a program.
"Tonight's win means a lot."
Tough win
It was a big win but it wasn't an easy win.
Trailing 78-74, Liberty junior Mychal Doblanski drove in for a quick bucket with 3.8 seconds left to make it a two-point game. The Eagles then turned the ball over on a failed cross-court in-bounds pass, giving the Leopards 2.3 seconds to get a shot off.
But Hubbard's Frank Rosile got a hand on the pass and Doblanski's turnaround half-court shot came up short at the buzzer.
"This is a big boost for us," said Kanetsky, who added six assists and four rebounds. "We may play teams with a better skill level but we out-hustle them."
He'll get no argument from Liberty coach Burt Stellers.
"They just outplayed us," he said. "They completely outplayed us in every facet of the game.
"The better team won."
Stellers was without starting senior guard Donovan Fletcher, who was on a football recruiting trip at Ohio University. But Stellers refused to use that as an excuse.
"That shouldn't even be mentioned," Stellers said. "That's not fair to Donovan and that's not fair to Hubbard.
"There shouldn't be anything that takes away from what Hubbard did tonight."
Keeping it close
Doblanksi had a terrific night, scoring 32 points to go along with eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals. Senior Edward Kershaw added a game-high 33 points and nine rebounds for the Leopards (3-3, 0-1).
No other player scored more than seven points.
When asked if Liberty can use this game as motivation for the rest of the season, Stellers shook his head.
"Point blank, I don't think it's the coaching staff's job to make a kid play hard," Stellers said. "If they can't come out and get excited about playing on an opponent's floor, there's not much the coaching staff can do."
Hubbard made 26 of 48 from the floor (54 percent), which is about its season average, King said. Corey Hitt added 10 points for the Eagles, who were outrebounded 37-22 but played solid defense.
"We come to play," King said. "We've played hard the whole year."
Lonnie Showers had seven points and nine rebounds for the Leopards, who will play the whole season without 6-4 post player Chris Harrison. Harrison suffered an ACL injury in Liberty's playoff loss to Akron Buchtel. They made 31 of 63 from the floor.
scalzo@vindy.com