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Ackerman, Davidson lead Salem over Struthers
STRUTHERS
In an underdog role at Struthers, it was all Salem after the first quarter as the Quakers took a 32-29 lead at the half, held a 45-41 advantage after three quarters and ran away from the Wildcats in the fourth to earn a 64-52 victory in a Division II sectional final.
Salem junior Chase Ackerman played a starring role in both the scoring column with 20 points and on the glass with a game-high eight rebounds while his sidekick, junior Mitch Davidson, chipped in with 17 points and five rebounds.
The Quakers earned the upset playing without perhaps their best player, senior Jon Gerace, who was serving the second of a two-game suspension for an earlier OHSAA infraction.
“My motivation was to get Jon Gerace back on the court next week,” Ackerman said. “He’s devoted his whole high school career to this game and it just really stinks to see him have to go out like that so I’m glad to get him back.”
As a Salem wide receiver last fall, Ackerman’s quarterback was Davidson. The duo combined for 17 of the Quakers’ 19 points in the fourth quarter.
“I’ve been playing with Davidson since I was about in the fifth grade and ever since then we’ve always had a great connection,” Ackerman said. “He’s the quarterback and I’m his wide receiver, I’m his post and he’s my guard, it’s just natural. I consider him one of my best friends. He’s just a great player, a great teammate and a great friend to have.”
Salem coach Rich Hart was a little emotional after the contest.
“[The win is] huge. Our kids just played their butts off and they showed a lot of character,” Hart said. “I’m just extremely proud of the effort that they all gave and they did that without a senior who averaged 16/17 points a game, Jon Gerace. He’s a first-teamer in our league and these guys rose to the occasion, next man up, and they just did a super job. All of them.”
Hart knew his Quakers were facing a tall task.
“We had to play about as good as we played. And we had to play better than we’re capable of and we did that,” he said. “We had to play a solid all-around game, especially defensively, and we brought out the 1-3-1 [defense] and our kids did a really great job playing the 1-3-1, and that gave them some problems.”
Struthers indeed shot poorly from the field had a hard time defending in the paint.
“The bottom line was we couldn’t get defensive stops and we couldn’t make a shot,” said Struthers head coach Jim Franceschelli. “Those are two things we’ve done all year and we couldn’t do them today. Five of 21 from the 3 (point- line), we haven’t been that bad all year in a game.”
The Wildcats last played on Feb. 14, but Franceschelli wasn’t offering that up as an excuse.
“That’s what we talked about in [the locker room], but the bottom line is Salem was better than us tonight,” he said. “I don’t think we were all there mentally tonight, a long-layoff can do that to you I guess, but there’s no excuses. We should have the basketball game and we didn’t.”
Andrew Carbon led Struthers with 19 points, A.J. Musolino had 15 and Carson Ryan added 10.
Salem (12-12) will play Poland on Wednesday in a district semifinal at Boardman.
“It’s a great victory,” Hart said. “Our kids have stepped up and I’m awfully proud of them.”