Struthers smothers Liberty

By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
STRUTHERS -- The Struthers High basketball team entered Friday's game against Liberty with no returning starters, two players with varsity experience and a height disadvantage at nearly every position.
No problem. The Wildcats outrebounded Liberty 41-26 and played swarming defense to shut down the Leopards, 51-36, in both teams' season opener at Struthers High School.
"We're small, hardworking kids -- just usual Struthers kids," said Jim Franceschelli, who had 10 points and four steals. "Our program is built on defense and we came out prepared to play."
Struthers seemed to be playing in a different gear much of the night, and Liberty struggled to keep pace.
Wildcats guards Nick Leiter (five steals) and Franceschelli applied constant pressure, which forced the Leopards into shooting 28 percent (10-31).
No Liberty player had more than six points.
"They flat-out outworked us tonight," Liberty coach Burt Stellers said. "If we're gonna get better, that has to stop. They were more physical and they just threw us around."
Inexperienced: Struthers lost all its starters from last year to graduation, and only Leiter and Jason Martin, who had a game-high 11 points, had varsity experience.
"I was scared before the game started," said Franceschelli, who played all 32 minutes.
"But after that, my adrenaline settled me down. We came out wanting to make a statement.
"We may not be as good as some past Struthers teams, but we outwork teams."
D.J. Aldish had eight points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats.
Tabak added 10 points and nine rebounds and Jason Mitchell had seven points and nine rebounds.
The Wildcats shot just 34 percent (21-for-61), but repeatedly got second-chance shots.
On one possession, Struthers missed five straight shots before Tabak hit a four-footer and was fouled.
"I think we were a little nervous before the game started," Struthers coach Joe Fuline said. "But we stayed composed. We missed a ton of shots, but we kept battling and that's the way we've gotta play.
"I'm real happy with the effort."
Pulling away: Liberty kept pace with Struthers in the first quarter, trailing 9-7. But the Wildcats controlled the second quarter, outshooting Liberty 18-5 to open up a 27-13 halftime lead.
Liberty never got within double digits in the second half and was outscored in every quarter.
"We're very young and very inexperienced," said Stellers, who starts three sophomores. "We were real impatient with our shots.
"When we attacked the basket, we got to the line. We just need to work harder."
Liberty hit 15-of-23 free throws, but many came after the game was decided.
Steve Patterson and Jeff Schnall each had six points for Liberty, and Schnall had nine rebounds. Joe Lopez had three assists.