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Baskets tough to come by in Girard victory
By MIKE McLAIN
GIRARD
If it had been a first-to-100, backyard basketball game, the Girard Indians and Struthers Wildcats might not have been home in time to catch Jimmy Fallon’s monologue.
Whether it was a problem associated with the first game of the season or just plain poor shooting, both All-American Conference teams struggled mightily to score. The Wildcats registered just six fourth-quarter points, while the Indians managed 12 on their way to a 49-43 win Friday night.
The Indians, who were nearly flawless in scoring 20 points in the first quarter, went cold the rest of the game. They were 18 of 45 from the field, which included a dismal 2-of-16 performance from 3-point territory. Add an 11-of-24 showing from the foul line, and it was probably enough to make Indians coach Craig Hannon call for an 8 a.m. practice today.
“We’re lucky to walk out with a win,” Hannon said. “It’s totally unacceptable, and we have to fix that fast.”
The Wildcats struggled even more from the field, making 15 of 52 shots. They made 8 of 10 free throws.
Wildcats coach Brian Garcar, who is replacing the suspended Jim Franceschelli for the first two games, echoed Hannon’s comments.
“They’re shots we normally knock down,” Garcar said. “I feel like we got a lot of good open shots, and they didn’t go in. That kind of changes our game plan and the type of shots we’re trying to get when shots aren’t going in. We’ll come back tomorrow and this weekend and keep trying to get better.”
No one saw this coming, at least from Girard’s standpoint, in the early going. The Indians, led by Austin Claussell’s nine points, opened a 20-12 lead after the first quarter. David Blackmon added seven points in the session.
The Wildcats scored the first three points of the second quarter, but the Indians picked up where they left off in the first quarter by scoring the next five points to take a 25-15 lead.
Struthers spent the rest of the quarter and all of the third evening up matters. The Wildcats trailed 29-24 at halftime and tied the score at 33 on a 3-point shot by Ryan Leonard at the 3:58 mark of the third period. The score remained tied at 37 following the third quarter.
Leonard, who led the Wildcats in scoring with 15 points, gave Struthers its first lead since early in the game with a fielder to open the final period. The Indians answered with a 3-pointer by Christian Graziano and a fielder by Austin O’Hara. Jared Laczko followed with a field goal for Struthers, but Girard scored the next six points to pull away. The Indians missed a chance to add to the lead by failing to convert on four free throws during the run.
“I give Struthers credit,” Hannon said. “They’re really scrappy and put out a lot of effort and did some good things, but we got through a bad shooting night. We have a veteran group and a bunch of guys that played last year. They have to do those (scrappy) things sometimes.”
Claussell led all scorers with 20 points. Blackmon had 12 points.