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Phifer nets 1,000th point in Struthers win
YOUNGSTOWN
Struthers High basketball coach Jim Franceschelli was watching his team’s double-digit lead over East whittle away at the foul line.
He turned to one of his assistant coaches and said, “We have to be one of the worst free throw shooting teams in the country.”
While the Wildcats weren’t good on Sunday in the Lariccia’s See Them Rise basketball tournament at the Covelli Centre, they were able to hold off the Panthers, 59-52.
But it’s still something Franceschelli can’t quite figure out.
“It’s a fact,” he said after a 17-for-32 performance from his team at the line. “People probably think that we don’t work on free throw shooting, but it’s one of the things we spend the most time on.
“Obviously now it’s just a mental thing — it’s a mental block.
The Wildcats (10-7) were 10 of 20 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, and senior Ray Phifer didn’t help the cause by missing seven in the game.
He did, however, record his 1,000th career point off a third-quarter defensive rebound that he took 94 feet and finished with at the rim.
“I was trying to get it out of the way so I could focus, but it was tougher than I thought it would be,” said Phifer, who finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds.
“I’m pretty proud of myself.”
His teammates and coaches were as well. They stopped the game momentarily to award him with a game ball and exchange hugs.
“He’s a great kid,” Franceschelli said. “Anybody who’s ever had the chance to meet him and talk to him, he’s shy, humble — if anybody deserved it, it was him and we couldn’t be more proud of him.”
East, which scored just 14 points in the first half, settled down coming out of the break and slowly cut into the deficit with 3-point shooting and pressure defense on the Struthers guards. Malik Marrow and Ce’andre Backus each connected three times from beyond the arc in the second half, but struggled to get open looks in the final minutes.
“We just gotta start learning how to play four quarters,” said Panthers coach Dennis Simmons.
“Our Achilles heel is we’re still learning how to play.
“We’re young, inexperienced and we don’t trust each other.”
The Panthers (2-12) outscored the Wildcats 21-11 in the third quarter and were within three points with 17 seconds left.
Two free throws from Phifer and one of two from Andrew Carbon, who scored a game high 20 points, allowed the Wildcats to snap a three-game losing skid.
“We thought the game was over,” Phifer said. “We were up 16 at half, but they were still playing hard.
“I’m glad we got the W.”