Fletcher shoots Liberty past Struthers

The junior wing did his damage mostly in transition for the Leopards.
By DOUG CHAPIN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
LIBERTY -- Bradley Fletcher scored 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the Liberty High boys basketball team to a 61-43 non-conference victory Tuesday over Struthers.
The Leopards used a 14-2 run in the second quarter and a 21-5 spurt in the second half to stay perfect in three games.
"We still have a long way to go defensively and we need to take care of the basketball better than we did tonight, though Struthers did a good job getting in the passing lanes," said Burt Stellers, Liberty's third-year coach.
On the move
Fletcher, a 6-foot-2 junior wing, did his damage mostly in transition and on the offensive boards. He shot 7-of-8 from the field and was 9-of-10 at the foul line. Joel Marshall added 11 points and Brian Post had 10.
D.J. Aldish of Struthers scored two of his nine points on the first hoop of the second quarter, putting the Wildcats (1-2) ahead 13-12. Fletcher then scored six points in a 14-2 run that gave Liberty a 28-17 lead with 2:10 remaining in the half.
Struthers again scored the first basket of the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 29-22, but Liberty went on its second long run, increasing the advantage to 50-27 with 6:42 remaining in the game.
"Give Liberty credit, they have a nice team, but we are going to continue to struggle until we learn what a good shot is," Struthers coach Joe Fuline said. "We took too many poor shots and made too many dumb fouls. We fouled too many shooters."
By the numbers
Junior point guard Jim Franceschelli led Struthers with 15 points. Liberty held large advantages in rebounding (35-18) and at the foul line. The Leopards made 20-of-32 at the line compared to 2-of-7 for Struthers.
With victories over two Metro Athletic Conference opponents, Liberty looks like a dark horse contender in the Trumbull Athletic Conference.
Stellers, who listed Lakeview, Newton Falls and Champion as the favorites in what is expected to be another close race, isn't ready to put the Leopards up there yet.
"Our biggest goal this year is to be more competitive and we hope the wins will take care of themselves," he said. "We're still relatively young with five juniors playing, and only one of our three seniors really had significant playing time last year."
Recovery
Fuline, meanwhile, will try to get the Wildcats back on track with a very competitive non-conference schedule looming before the MAC season begins.
"Our early-season progression is at a stalemate and our schedule only gets tougher," he said. "But if our kids continue to work hard and we play smarter, we can improve.
"Some of our young kids did a nice job tonight. They showed they can play at the varsity level."