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Henderson’s shot propels ESV past Struthers
By Jim Flick
Youngstown
In a game whose outcome wasn’t resolved until the final moments, the Erie Strong Vincent boys’ basketball team defeated Struthers 62-60 on Monday.
With the game tied, senior DeAndrye Henderson put in a lay-up with six seconds remaining to give Erie Strong Vincent (7-4) the lead.
A desperation shot at the buzzer by Struthers (9-3) went awry, giving the Pennsylvania team the victory in the third of four “Battle of the Borders” games at the Covelli Centre.
The Colonels led for most of the game, at one point in the third quarter by 11 points, but could never pull away from the Wildcats. Struthers kept bouncing back, and led 58-57 with about three minutes remaining.
“Our guy showed some resilience, which is why we scheduled this game,” said Struthers coach Joe Savko. “There’s a chance later in the year when we’ll see a very athletic team like this in the tournament, and that’s what this is for. To get us ready for the tournament.”
Struthers was led by senior Dylan Schmidt, who scored a game-high 21 points. He sank four 3-point shots.
Joe Jacubec tallied 20 points for the Wildcats, while Jordan Sapp contributed 12 points.
Henderson scored 19 points and Denzel Jones added 18 more.
The Colonels scored the game’s first seven points before Jacubec sank a 3-pointer.
Struthers surged ahead and led 17-16 at the end of the first quarter, with Jacubec and Schmidt scoring five points each.
But the Colonels outscored the Wildcats 17-13 in the second quarter to take a 33-30 halftime lead. Jacubec and Sapp each scored 10 points in the first half, while Schmidt added eight points.
Erie Strong Vincent started the second half with a strong run to lead 41-30.
The Wildcats tied the score 48-48 when Schmidt sank a 3-pointer but Jones hit a 3-pointer to give the Colonels a 51-48 lead after three quarters.
Struthers scored the first three points of the fourth quarter to tie the score but Strong Vincent settled the issue with six seconds remaining.
“This game was a learning tool,” said Savko. “It’s a great experience for these kids to play in a big facility like this and we just hope it does good for us later down the line.”
“We got everything we thought we were going to get playing Struthers,” said Erie Strong Vincent coach Shannon Pulliam. “We knew that they’re well coached, and we knew the point guard [Jacubec] is real good, and we knew that they shot the ball real well.” Struthers, he added, “is a real scrappy team. They weren’t going to go away.”