Jacubec explodes in fourth; Struthers topples Hubbard

STRUTHERS — After hitting his third 3-pointer of the quarter to cap a cold-blooded stretch of basketball, Struthers senior Nate Jacubec backpedaled down the court and shouted, “Let’s go!”

The verbal outburst was six minutes too late. The Wildcats already had been following his lead.

Jacubec scored 15 points over a six-minute stretch of the fourth quarter to break open a close game and give the Wildcats a 65-55 win over Hubbard in an All-American Conference White Tier game Friday at the Struthers Fieldhouse.

“He’s a shooter,” Hubbard coach Rick Fox said. “He hit some big shots even when there was a hand in his face.

“What are you going to do with that?”

Jacubec, who finished with 26 points, started the run with a 3-pointer that broke a 41-41 tie. Four more baskets — he shot 5-for-5 for the quarter — and a pair of free throws gave Struthers a 60-49 lead with less than two minutes left.

Ballgame.

“When were down, I was the one who needed to step up because no one else was,” Jacubec said. “We tried to get it in the post and the shots weren’t falling.

“So, I took my first shot in the fourth quarter, it went in and I thought I was feeling it. So I kept going and it just went from there.”

The game was originally scheduled for Hubbard High, but a sewer problem prompted a site change. Not surprisingly, the Eagles looked a little out of sorts to start the game, turning the ball over nine times while falling behind 20-13.

Some of it may have been the location but, more likely, it was due to not having senior Kurtis Drummond in the lineup for the second straight game. Drummond, a four-year starter who was out with a knee strain, was replaced by sophomore Mike Tobey, who was making his first career start.

The Eagles (8-5, 1-2) picked it up in the second and third quarters, holding Struthers to just 19 points over that stretch to tie the game at 39 entering the fourth.

With senior Mike Lopuchovsky struggling with foul trouble all game, it was senior Tylor Loveless who stepped it up for Hubbard, scoring 14 of his 18 points in the first three quarters.

In the fourth, Struthers coach Joe Savko inserted speedy guard Ja’miere Brown to guard Loveless and the move paid off.

“Loveless was having a pretty good night and we weren’t prepared for that,” Savko said. “We put Ja’miere in to guard him and he did a great job late in the third quarter and the fourth.

“That kind of got us going.”

Senior Matt Durkin added 11 points for the Wildcats (13-2, 4-0), while junior Adam Ryczaj added nine points and a team-high nine rebounds and Jacubec had four assists and six steals, both team-highs.

Savko’s only complaint came with his team’s defense, which is good when shots are falling on offense and lousy when they’re not.

“We need to stop that habit, we really do,” Jacubec said.

Lopuchovsky finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds for Hubbard and Chase Myers had 10 points and six rebounds.

The Eagles have lost two straight league games since Drummond’s injury and are hoping he can return in time for the tournament. The Michigan State football recruit has been doing physical therapy and will see an orthopedist on Monday.

“We’re hoping it’s minor,” Fox said.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, controls their destiny in the league race. If Drummond returns in two weeks, the Feb. 16 rematch at Hubbard could loom large.

But they’ll worry about that later.

“It helps that we have everyone back from last year,” Jacubec said of the team’s success this winter. “We just kept rebuilding, worked hard in the summer and we keep getting better every week.”

scalzo@vindy.com