It’s all White: Wildcats crowned

By Jon Moffett

The Wildcats were 24-26 from the free throw line.

HUBBARD — Struthers treated its game at Hubbard Tuesday as though the game was a home contest in the All-American Conference White Tier.

And for fans who read the schedule, that’s exactly what it was.

The Wildcats (16-2, 6-0 AAC White) and Eagles (12-6, 4-3 AAC White) swapped home games this season because of a sewer line issue. And Struthers felt right at home with a 78-66 victory over Hubbard to claim the AAC White Tier crown.

“We, as coaches are proud to be part of that,” said Struthers head coach Joe Savko. “Those kids took it upon themselves to [do] the necessary work to get to this spot right here. And we just told them we’re proud to be a part of it.”

Struthers achieved a perfect 6-0 in the conference with the victory. They were also nearly perfect from the foul line.

The Wildcats made 24 of their 26 attempts from the charity stripe, something the team has done all year.

Savko said the team likes to create an inside presence early in order to set up its outside shooters. A big part of that plan was junior Adam Ryczaj.

The 6-foot-1 Ryczaj made the first eight points for Struthers and had 12 in the first half. He finished with 14 points.

“Adam did a great job in the first half,” Savko said. “He kind of forced his will on them. But credit them, they did a great job in the second half of coming back and shutting him down. And we weren’t really making 3s, so we had to fight and scratch for buckets and other guys stepped up to make the shots, which is proof that we have a pretty good team.”

Savko’s plan seemed to work well, and when the ball wouldn’t drop inside, the team found its outside shooters wide open.

The Jacubec trifecta – senior Nick, junior Nate and sophomore Jake – along with Ryczaj and senior Matt Durkin made 21 of the team’s 24 baskets. The eldest Jacubec had a game-high 24 points, including a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line. Durkin was second with 16 points, nine of which came from beyond the arc.

Savko said his team was trying to send a message against the Eagles, who eliminated the team from the tournament last season.

“In the first round of the tournament, West Branch plays Hubbard and we play the winner,” he said. “We could be looking at another rematch in the tournament, so we had to come out and show them that we’re going to come out and get after them.”

And get after them they did.

The Wildcats scored 40 points in the first half and allowed 25.

Hubbard coach Rick Fox said his team, which was down by 20 at one point but cut the lead to nine, showed commendable effort.

“I just said we’ve got to have pride and we’ve got to have heart,” he said. “I just told them we’ve got two games left, we’ve got the tournament and we could face these guys again if we win the first game of the tournament. I told them they’ve got to find the pride and the heart, and they showed that tonight.”

Hubbard was driven by senior Taylor Loveless and juniors Mike Lopuchovsky, Korey Hopkinson and Corey Groscost. Loveless scored 17 of his team-high 21 points in the second half.

Lopuchovsky had 18, and Hopkinson had 13, including nine points off the deep ball. Groscost had two 3-point goals and finished with 10 points.

jmoffett@vindy.com