STRUTHERS — Going into Saturday’s game against Struthers, the Mathews Mustangs had a lot on their minds.

Aside from the tough battle ahead against the Wildcats, Mathews senior Dom Toto was just 13 points from reaching 1,000 points.

The pressure was on, but in Toto’s case, pressure made diamonds.

The senior battled through an early shooting slump to finish with 20 points, 17 of which came in the second half, including a deep buzzer-beater to force overtime.

One overtime wasn’t enough, though, but the Mustangs walked off the court with a win, taking down Struthers 70-66 in double overtime.

“I’m exhausted,” Mathews coach Mike Weymer said. “The pressure of dealing with a good start to the season, and stepping up in weight class here playing Struthers, a Northeast 8 school. They see really good competition night in and night out. We knew they wouldn’t be scared of Mathews or scared of our 1000-point kid.

“We got their best shot tonight, and I was really proud of how our kids handled the environment, the moment, helping Dom with his milestone. It was a perfect night.”

Each team threw their haymakers at each other throughout, delivering what they thought would be a decisive blow, but it never came.

It felt like there was always an answer.

But outside of Toto’s 3-pointer to force overtime, the most important shot didn’t even count.

In the third quarter, Toto hit a 3-pointer waved off by a Mustang foul. Those three points weren’t added to the scoreboard, but seeing that shot fall was all he needed.

“When I got that shot off the screen,” Toto said of the moment he found his groove. “It didn’t count, but I knew. I was like, ‘OK, I feel it. I feel how to play this game and how they’re playing me.'”

Finding that groove came just in time for the Mustangs, as Struthers was heating up too.

Toto’s milestone-setting shot came in the fourth quarter. Driving to the basket, the senior took a foul which knocked him to the ground.

The shot went in, and the relief Toto felt could be seen by everyone in the Struthers Fieldhouse.

For Toto, it wasn’t easy, but that’s no different than any point throughout his high school career.

A shooting slump is nothing.

“Two shoulder surgeries during my sophomore and junior years, a lot of rehab, about a year in physical therapy for both shoulders,” Toto said. “It just feels great to be able to come out here every week and get to play with my guys.”

Weymer has watched this journey up close and couldn’t be prouder.

“It hasn’t been clean,” Weymer said. “Two shoulder surgeries, he had to give up his senior year of football to be out here for us this year. Those are huge sacrifices for a high school senior to make. The growth and having to overcome all of those adversities. One shoulder surgery is like, ‘OK, I’m good.’ And then a second one. Just all of his ups and downs, I’m proud of him for sticking through and being the face of our program.”

Struthers falls to 2-10 on the season with the loss, but the young Wildcats showed something that coach DJ Aldish hadn’t seen yet this year.

“We played with intensity for four whole quarters. We haven’t done that all year, and it actually ended up being six quarters,” Aldish said. “We got tested tonight with six quarters of intensity, that’s what I think we learned. Just stay intense no matter how long it is, and it’ll pay off.”

Jimmy Shaffer led Struthers with a game-high 25 points.

They resume league play on Tuesday against Girard.

Mathews (8-1) goes to Lordstown on Tuesday to take on the Red Devils.