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Hvisdak, Lowellville upend Struthers
Hvisdak, Lowellville upend Struthers
By DAN HINER
STRUTHERS
The Lowellville boys basketball team took advantage of one mistake.
The Rockets used a technical foul to swing momentum in the third quarter of their 55-48 win over Struthers on Tuesday at Struthers Fieldhouse.
Kevin Traylor missed a layup with 30 seconds left in the third and was called for a technical after arguing with the referee while going back down the court.
Matt Hvisdak hit both free throws for the Rockets (16-6) and Cole Bunofsky made a layup with 10.9 seconds left to tie the game at 43.
The Rockets used the new-found momentum to outscore the Wildcats 12-5 in the fourth quarter.
“[The technical foul] was pretty huge,” Hvisdak said. “We got two free throws and we got the ball back and it was kind of a big momentum swing.
“Even though it was only one guy who got the technical, the whole team was really frustrated. And we knew if we kept on them, they were gonna fold.”
The Wildcats (10-11) led 48-45 with 3:59 left, but layups by Bunofsky and Jake Rotz gave Lowellville a one-point lead. Hvisdak put the game way, going 6 for 6 at the free-throw line in the final minute.
Struthers went 2 for 11 from the field in the fourth, including six missed shots after Lowellville took the lead.
The Rockets only led for 38 seconds prior to the fourth quarter.
Struthers head coach Mike Wernicki said the players became impatient and tried to increase the tempo of the game. He said Lowellville stayed in its defense and was more patient in the second half.
“We just kind of imploded in the second half,” Wernicki said. “Took some quick shots, stopped reversing the ball. And from an emotional standpoint, the guys got tight and we started turning it over.
“It was just a little uncharacteristic of us in the second half. But credit to them.”
Hvisdak scored a game-high 17 points for the Rockets, going 10 for 10 at the free-throw line. Dylan Durkin scored 13 points while Rotz added 11 points, seven rebounds and a block.
Hvisdak took a charge from Traylor in the first half and got up slow.
He pulled a muscle in his lower back, but still scored 10 points in the second half.
“It kind of loosened up a little,” Hvisdak said. “Once we got a close game, my mind kind of got off of it and kind of stopped worrying about it.”
Hvisdak’s strong second half wasn’t a surprise to Lowellville head coach Matt Olson.
“This is Matt’s senior year,” Olson said. “If he can be out there, he wants to be out there.”
Traylor led the Wildcats with nine points, 12 rebounds and two steals. Carson Ryan scored a team-high 16 points for Struthers and Trey Metzka finished with nine.
The win was big for the Rockets mentally.
Lowellville is the third seed in the Division IV Struthers district. To win a district title, they’ll have to win in Struthers.
“This is our last regular-season game. We play on this court if we make it into the later rounds of the playoffs,” Hvisdak said. “This was a big game just to get shots up on this court. Playing a bigger school, especially coming away with a win against them, that’s huge to know we can compete against bigger schools.”