Williams leads Campbell past Struthers, 53-45

Williams leads Campbell past Struthers, 53-45

He made all eight of his free throws in the final quarter as the Red Devils topped their rivals.

CAMPBELL — What do you make of two teams whose coaches expressed their concerns in fractions and minutes?

Brian Danilov says his Campbell Red Devils haven’t put together four quarters yet.

Struthers’ Joe Savko said his Wildcats (2-5) have got to play for 32 minutes straight with no let-ups.

On Tuesday, the incomplete play amounted to a 53-45 Campbell victory after the Red Devils (3-3) recovered from lackluster middle quarters.

Jerah’me Williams scored a game-high 25 points which included an 8 of 8 performance at the free throw in in the fourth quarter when Campbell outscored the visiting Wildcats, 16-5.

Including the third quarter, Williams made 10 straight foul shots. In the end, he made 11 of 13.

Struthers was more balanced as Adam Ryczaj had 18 points and Nate Jacubec 15.

Joe Savko said it was one of his Wildcats’ best defensive games of their seven so far, but a few moments did lasting damage.

“Two possessions can kill you,” Savko said of a crucial segment of the final quarter when Struthers’ 41-40 lead quickly turned into a 46-43 deficit.

In that stretch, Nate Hodge made two straight baskets with help from Dorian Jones after a missed free throw and the hustle of the Red Devils in general.

“We didn’t box out and they got an offensive rebound and we missed a loose ball and they got it and got fouled,” said Savko. “They took all the momentum. It just goes to show you that you’ve got to play for 32 minutes straight with no let-ups. One or two possessions can bite you in the butt.”

Danilov was complimentary of Jones, Lester Hughes and John Sikora for their contribution.

“Their hustle points — rebounds, putbacks and loose balls, along with boxing out meant a lot.”

Trailing 40-37 entering the final frame, Danilov told his Red Devils to make the possessions count.

“We told them to play the possessions and get the hustle points. There really wasn’t much rhythm to the game. You’ve got two rivalries. In games like that, you’ve got to get those hustle points.”

Danilov agreed that the key to the game was due to rebounds and putbacks in the fourth quarter during back-to-back possessions.

Despite it all, Struthers had its best spurt in the second quarter when the Wildcats outscored Campbell, 13-2, to lead at the half, 26-24.

Campbell converted 14 of 23 free throws to Struthers’ 8 of 19.

“I’m happy with way we played, because they’re bigger and stronger than us and we boxed them out and got the rebounds,” Savko said. “But we just missed some free throws at the wrong time. As the season wears on, we’re going to start putting some W’s in that column.”