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Struthers ousts Mooney
Ravenna stuns Lakeview with buzzer beater
By jon moffett
BOARDMAN
Joe Savko doesn’t really get why people are so surprised by the number in the “3-pointers attempted” category of a stat book.
Sure, his Struthers High team shoots a lot of threes. But that’s only because they make a lot of threes.
“We have three really good shooters, and then a fourth and a fifth who can shoot it, we just don’t run a lot of sets for them,” Savko said. “So, I mean, we have five guys who we are confident can make the three. So that’s what we look to do.”
And do it they did.
Struthers drained a dozen treys in a 63-51 victory over Cardinal Mooney High in Wednesday’s sectional final game at Boardman High.
Savko estimated his team shot about 450 such shots during the course of the year. He added that the Wildcats (17-4) probably shot about 500 regular field goals. The key to the balance is indirectly linked to one player: senior guard Jake Jacubec.
Jacubec is the definition of a “score from anywhere on the floor” player. His jump shot is one of the prettiest you’ll ever see. And he’s also not afraid to run his lanky 6-foot frame inside.
“Jake runs the whole show. But if we didn’t have guys who could shoot it, he wouldn’t be nearly as effective,” Savko said. “So we try to go early and get guys shots to try and open things up for Jake.”
Jacubec — a household name in Wildcat country — led all scorers with 21. Nine of them came on three treys and another eight on 10 attempts from the free-throw line.
But the soft-spoken Jacubec was just happy about the only stat that matters: the one in the win column.
“It just feels good to get the first [tournament] game out of the way,” Jacubec said. “We have a lot of guys who experienced their first postseason game tonight, so it was good to get the first-game jitters out of the way.”
There didn’t appear to be many jitters.
Teammates Dylan Schmidt (18) and Jordan Sapp (16) each added double-digit scoring.
Cardinal Mooney coach Chris Kohl said it’s tough to beat a time when it shoots so effectively.
“Those are really nice weapons to have,” Kohl said laughing. “I bet every coach wishes they had that. It would make things easier if when one guy is having an off night there is another to pick up the slack.”
Ravenna 71,
Lakeview 70
In the nightcap, fans were stunned silent as Ravenna High sank a three-pointer at the buzzer to pull the upset of No. 3 seeded Lakeview High.
The Ravens (12-9) trailed by as many as 22 points and looked hopeless in a 40-19 first half.
The Bulldogs (11-10) were 16-of-19 from the field in the half and looked to be in control. But the Ravens were a different team in the second half.
It was like Ravenna had put the Bulldogs in a Chinese finger trap; the more Lakeview tried to pull away, the tighter everything became.
And in the fourth quarter, the tightness suffocated the Bulldogs.
“Basketball is a funny sport, and it’s a game of runs,” Ravenna coach Phil Starks said.
The game-winning shot was made as time expired by sophomore Joseba Estalayo, who had missed two free throws in the fourth quarter and had traveled to turn the ball over with five seconds to play.
A split pair of free throws by Lakeview set up the game-winning shot.
Zach McDivitt led the Bulldogs with 18 points and Anthony Franco scored 14. Brandon Bensing and Elijah Henderson each scored 12 points.