HUBBARD – It was a Northeast 8 Conference battle when Struthers visited Hubbard on Friday evening, and the Wildcats came out on top 55-47.

“(Hubbard) Coach (Ryan) Fitch is one of the best in the area,” Struthers coach DJ Aldish said. “We tried to limit their possessions the best we could. We’re not really deep. We’ve gotta make every possession count like it’s the last possession of the game.”

The Eagles (1-5) led 9-8 at the end of the first quarter thanks to four points from junior Jakob Hayes, who finished with 11 points on the night.

However, junior Ty Price (10 points) made a 3-pointer from the corner, and fellow junior Tommy Cole (14 points) nailed one at the buzzer to give the Wildcats a 21-18 lead at halftime.

Gianni Stewart (nine points) took it to the hoop to start the second half for Struthers. The Wildcats were working the ball around the court until they found EJ Hines wide open underneath the basket for a lay-in.

Junior Jimmy Shaffer (14 points) scored off a fast-break to give Struthers a 39-28 advantage heading to the fourth quarter. Then, he started the fourth with a big rejection, and made a pair of clutch free throws in the closing minutes of the contest.

“This was a good game,” Shaffer said. “We moved the ball well. We executed our plays. We knew we had to hold the ball in the last few seconds of the game, and hit our free throws to get the win. We practice those everyday. You just gotta go up there and sink them.”

Junior Braydon Songer did his best to keep the Eagles close by stealing the ball and drilling one from downtown. Songer finished with a game-high 24 points.

Brady Fabrizio made one from behind the arc to get Hubbard within five points with 3:30 left in regulation, but a tip-in from Shaffer helped the Wildcats (2-6) close out the victory.

“We slowed it down,” Aldish said. “I think we learned a little bit about what it takes to close out a game tonight. We’re going through some growing pains. We don’t have a senior on our roster. They’re learning. This is a learning process.”