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Canfield defenders ignite first win
After a sluggish start, the Cardinals rolled past Struthers, 71-45.
STRUTHERS — One staple of the Canfield High boys basketball program is defense.
Coach John Cullen’s Cardinals relied on that basic premise throughout the first half of their season-opening game at Struthers while they struggled to put the rest of their game in gear.
In the second half, the Cards got the offense going and easily turned back the Wildcats, 71-45.
Canfield had three players score in double figures and used a tremendous height advantage to control the boards in cruising to the non-league victory.
The two rivals are now members of the All-American Conference after competing in the past in the Metro Athletic Conference. Canfield and Struthers are in different tiers in the new league.
“I thought we played pretty good defense in the first half and didn’t make too many mistakes,” Cullen said. “Offensively, we didn’t do a good job of using our advantages until late in the game.
“Sometimes players just have to figure their way out of a funk and we did that in the second half.”
Senior Adam Muth scored 15 points, including eight in the third quarter, to fuel a 20-10 Canfield run that turned a 23-19 halftime lead into a 43-29 advantage.
“Adam Muth kind of took over in the third quarter and showed us the way to the rim,” Cullen said. “He really showed us some leadership out there.
“Leadership isn’t something you can show some kids, it has to emerge and Adam Muth emerged as our leader tonight.”
Muth led the Cardinals on the football field as well this season as the team’s quarterback.
Muth got plenty of help as eight players scored. Casey Carroll added 15 points and Justin Vrabel had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Both are junior post players.
“Tonight showed you just what strength can do for a basketball team,” Struthers coach Joe Savko said. “We played Canfield in the summer and did pretty well but they’ve gotten much bigger and stronger since then and we didn’t have any answers for that.”
Struthers (0-2) has a young and small team but the Wildcats were able to hang with the Cardinals in the first half with some solid outside shooting from Nate Jacubec.
The junior guard scored 14 of his game-high 27 points in the first two periods to keep the Wildcats within range of Canfield.
“I don’t expect us to play perfect every game,” Cullen said. “But I want to see how the players respond to mistakes early in the season.
“It’s how you respond is what will determine if you are going to be successful.”
The Cards put most of their early mistakes behind them in the final 16 minutes.
Canfield shot over 50 percent (18-of-35) from the field in the final two periods, took care of the basketball (seven turnovers) and dominated the Wildcats on the board, 42-26.