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Struthers holds off late Fitch comeback
By Greg Gulas
STRUTHERS
For the first time in his three years as head coach of the Struthers basketball program, Jim Franceschelli’s Wildcats have presented him with a 2-0 start.
If they are to continue their winning ways, it might very well be up to a freshman to help them stay the course.
Carson Ryan and A.J. Musolino each scored 11 points and the Struthers defense withstood a late Austintown Fitch rally as the Wildcats defeated the Falcons 58-55 at Struthers Fieldhouse.
A freshman, Ryan is nursing a broken knuckle on his shooting hand and has only practiced with the team since last Wednesday.
“It’s really nice to fit right in as a freshman, but this team is like one big family and that has made the transition to varsity so much easier,” Ryan said. “Tonight, Coach Franceschelli told us that Fitch would go on runs and we had to be ready to weather their storm.
“When they did go on a run, we just slowed the ball down a bit and it worked.”
The Wildcats (2-0) raced to the early 12-2 lead, keyed in part by Ryan’s five points and a triple by Jaret Jacubec.
Turnovers proved to be costly for Struthers in the opening session as the Fitch (0-2) defense forced eight of their game-high 21 miscue in the opening frame, cut the lead to 12-9 and was able to pull to within a point at 18-17 heading to the second period of play.
Randy Smith, who scored a game-best 21 points, joined Ryan’s effort with seven points in the quarter.
“With Carson’s size, tonight was the night that we felt we could utilize him best and you can just see the promise that he has,” Franceschelli said. “He’s a big part of our overall plan for the next four years.”
Struthers scored 11 of the first 16 points in the second quarter for a 29-22 margin, but four points by the Falcons’ Dylan Beany keyed a 6-2 run as Fitch closed to 31-28 at intermission.
While Struthers remained undefeated at home, Fitch has now lost their second straight road contest to start the campaign, having already suffered a 68-54 setback at the hands of the East Panthers last Friday.
“I knew coming into the season that it would be a process, but tonight I felt as though we improved from our season opener against East,” Falcons head coach Brian Beany said. “I’m never satisfied with a loss, but we made great strides tonight and that’s what we ask of our players each and every day, whether it’s in practice or a game and that is to just get better.”
Neither team could get untracked in the third quarter, each scoring just five points as Struthers held on to a 36-33 advantage with a period remaining.
Musolino then took over in the final quarter as he scored nine of his 11 points, including seven from the charity stripe to preserve the victory.
“We haven’t been 2-0 to start the season in a while so this is an absolutely great feeling,” Musolino said. “Free throws are free points and Coach Franceschelli stresses that every practice session.
“The staff also stresses playing fast and hard and that’s exactly how we played tonight.”
The Wildcats canned 26 of 38 free throw attempts while Fitch connected on 21 of their 24 opportunities from the line.