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Struthers goes inside to turn back Canfield
By Ryan Jones
CANFIELD
The Struthers Wildcats proved they’re more than a group of 3-point marksmen.
On a night where the Wildcats shot only 3-of-17 from long range, it was their post play that propelled the offense.
Forwards Adam Ryczaj and Jordan Ryan combined for 33 points and 17 rebounds as Struthers overpowered Canfield 64-45 in a non-conference contest that matched the All-American Conference Red Tier against the White.
Struthers coach Joe Savko said he is aware of how opponents perceive his team.
“The theory is that Struthers is going to run up and down the floor in transition and bomb 3s,” he said. “We still shot a lot of 3s tonight, but Adam [Ryczaj] and Jordan [Ryan] are two nice post players that we have and we wanted to get the ball inside to them.”
Ryan netted eight first-quarter points on a variety of inside moves to give Struthers a 16-12 lead. The 6-foot-5 pivot made his first eight shots of the game and finished with 21 points.
“Jordan [Ryan] caught fire for us early and we went to him,” Savko said. “It’s nice to be able to throw it inside and have the defense double down and then we are able to kick the ball out for open shots.”
Two 9-0 runs in the second quarter, sandwiched by a three-point play by Canfield’s P.J. Stickle, pushed the Wildcats’ lead to 34-18.
“Good teams go on those types of scoring runs,” Canfield coach Todd Muckleroy said. “You really have to be on your toes against Struthers defensively.
“We hit a shot at the end of the first half that I thought might give us some momentum. We wanted to cut the lead under 10 in the third and we did, but they pushed it to 15 again before the end of the quarter.”
Nate Jacubec tallied 21 points and five rebounds for Struthers (3-0), while teammate Ryczaj stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, 15 rebounds and five assists.
“Nate is regarded as one of the best players in the area,” Savko said. “A lot of teams focus most of their energy defensively trying to stop him.
“A luxury we have is that other guys can put the ball in the basket for us. Adam is big guy with quick feet, good vision and great hands. He’s able to do a lot of things for us at both ends.”
Muckleroy said slowing the Jacubecs was a large part of the Cardinals’ game plan.
“We wanted to limit touches for the Jacubec brothers,” he said. “I thought we did a nice job of closing out on them at times. Other times we lost them and they got open looks.
“We’ve got a couple more games before league play and we’re going to sit down, look at the film and use this as a learning experience.”
Struthers made more free throws (17-of-25) than Canfield attempted (5-of-7), and outrebounded the Cards 34-25.
Will Yobi, who canned three from downtown, led Canfield (0-2) with 13 points and six rebounds. Jake Ferrier added 12 points and six boards, and Stickle chipped in 10 markers.