Motivation from family carries Clearys in victory

Andrew had 19 points and younger brother, Sean, added 14 in Niles' win.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
STRUTHERS -- Niles senior Andrew Cleary was carrying a heavy heart when he walked onto the floor at the Struthers Fieldhouse on Friday night.
Earlier in the week, his grandmother had passed away, forcing Cleary, along with his younger brother, Sean, to miss a few practices this week.
Last Friday, in the last game Niles played, Sean made the game-winning shot to upset Canfield.
"She was at that game," Andrew Cleary said. "She always came to our games. She was an avid fan of sports."
Best game
So, just before his game against Struthers, Cleary said a little prayer and dedicated the game to her.
And then he went out and played the best game of his season, scoring 19 points to lead the Red Dragons to a 64-43 win over the Wildcats.
"I finally found my shot," said Cleary, who also had five rebounds and three assists. "It was great to play that way."
Cleary scored 14 of his points in the first half as Niles (7-3, 2-0) took a 36-14 halftime lead.
Leading 15-12 after the first quarter, the Red Dragons outscored the Wildcats 21-2 in the second quarter, forcing seven turnovers (Struthers committed just five in the other three quarters combined) while holding them to 1-of-9 shooting.
"When you have a quarter like that, you couldn't be more proud of your team," Niles coach Ron Price said. "We defended really well and we didn't give them a lot of good looks."
Niles also made 14 of 28 from the field in the first half, a good percentage for a team that loves the 3-point shot.
"That was probably our best shooting half of the year," Price said.
Edge on boards
Justin Allen and Larry Sussman each had six rebounds as Niles held a 32-25 edge on the glass.
Sean Cleary added 14 points, while Allen had 10 and Joe Razzano had nine points and four assists.
"I was worried we might have a little bit of a letdown after having a week off after a thrilling win," Price said. "We came back with a lot of passion and I was really happy about that.
"A lot of the credit for that should go to my coaches. Coach [Rick] Kover and coach [Brian] McConnell do a great job of preparing the team to play."
Chris Kadvan had 14 points and six rebounds to lead Struthers (6-3, 1-1), which entered the game on a five-game winning streak. Matt Kukura added 10 points.
"We're not 20 points better than that team," Price said of Struthers. "We knew they were going to make a run [in the second half] and we did a good job of answering that, but we know they're a better team than they showed.
"It's going to be a different story at our place."
Encouraging signs
Still, the early signs are encouraging for Price, whose team is trying to sneak into a Metro Athletic Conference race that everyone expected to be dominated by Salem and Canfield.
"I think this is the best the league has been in awhile," Price said. "Canfield and Salem are definitely the teams to beat, but the other four can play with each other and maybe beat one of those two on a given night."
Especially when they have a little extra motivation.
"Canfield and Salem are the two best teams," Cleary said, "but we're trying to prove that we can hang in there with them and show people that we're just as good."
scalzo@vindy.com