Pryjma leads Canfield past Struthers
By DAN POMPILI
STRUTHERS
Santa Claus probably had the same feeling on that foggy Christmas Eve that Struthers High boys basketball coach Joe Savko had going into Friday night’s game against Canfield without Tommy Kimbrough.
Too bad for Savko, Rudolph can’t shoot jumpers.
“We consider Tommy one of our returning lettermen and we look for his contributions to the team,” Savko said after a 52-34 loss at home.
“He’s a very good athlete and he makes them a lot better,” said Canfield coach Todd Muckelroy. “It would have been a much different ballgame if he’d been playing.”
Rebounding and aggressive play kept Struthers alive until the late third quarter when the Cole Pryjma show began. The Canfield junior led all players with 17 points, including two 3-pointers and one hand-to-hand hook-shot style lay-up that had fans out of their seats.
Canfield (3-1) fouled more often but Struthers missed 14 free throws, which did not help to make up for their spotty shooting. Nor did they capitalize on possessions awarded from Canfield mistakes. The Cardinals, meanwhile, shot 6 for 12 at the line and made strong defensive plays when they needed them, and capitalized often on the many Wildcat miscues.
“I think what we’re seeing is that we’re learning as we go, and I’m happy about that,” Muckelroy said. “We’re still having our issues offensively but we’re buying into what we need to do on defense.”
The Wildcats (2-4) struggled to drive the lane and find scoring opportunities all night. Both teams played intense defense but Canfield created scoring lanes and made far fewer mistakes. The Cardinals built a nine-point lead in the first quarter and Struthers never narrowed the gap beyond seven points.
“We have to play more consistently,” Savko said. “We get some spurts and then that runs out and they have their runs, and that’s where we’ve been the past four games, is inconsistent.”
Ray’Quan Phifer led Struthers with 15 points, including a 3-pointer early in the third during a brief Wildcat run. Jarret Vrabel added 10 points for Canfield.