Staff photo / Brian Yauger Aidan Slocum of Struthers, right, drives to the basket, past the defense of McDonald’s Anthony Raggazzine on Friday night at Struthers.

STRUTHERS — With the tournament looming, the Struthers boys basketball team ended its regular season on a high note, closing out the first part of the season with an unblemished 21-0 record.

McDonald didn’t make it easy, however. The Blue Devils played close for the majority of the contest, but by the end it, the Wildcats were too much as they outlasted McDonald, 92-71.

“We played a really good team and we had to overcome some adversity to get that win,” Struthers coach Michael Wernicki said. “That team is very well-coached and you saw it. They shoot the heck out of the basketball and they put so much pressure on your defense and you never feel like you can pull away.

Staff photo / Brian Yauger Struthers senior Trey Metzka lobs a pass to a teammate during the final seconds of the first half. Metzka finished with a game-high 32 points.

“It was a great, great game to play to go into the tournament with because we had to play with some adversity and we had to overcome some things. Our bench had to come up and give us some help.”

Deep balls were a common theme, with the two teams combining for 27 3-pointers. Trey Metzka, who had a game-high 32 points, hit five for the Wildcats.

“When a team makes 16 3s, it’s hard to pull away from a team when they’re shooting the ball like that,” Wernicki said.

Eli Street was a big part of McDonald’s success from deep, finishing the game with 22 points, all but one of those coming from behind the arc.

Despite the score, first-year Blue Devils coach James Franceschelli was pleased with how the game was played. Until the midpoint of the third quarter, McDonald was within a basket or two for nearly the entire contest. As the game went on, the Wildcats just began to pull away.

“Oh man, they’re good,” Franceschelli said. “They’re well-coached. Wernicki does an unbelievable job. They’re a special team, man. For us to be there for three and a half quarters, right there, that’s a credit to our guys for being prepared tonight.”

Staff photo / Brian Yauger Struthers guard Brandon Washington and Dom Carkido of McDonald collide while going for a rebound.

It was a homecoming game for Franceschelli who returned to his home court in opposition colors for the first time in his life.

“For 37 years, I’ve always been on the home side, so this was an emotional night for me and my family to come back here and be on the other side,” Franceschelli said. “But it wasn’t about me tonight, it was about these guys on the floor. The way they played, both teams, it couldn’t have been any better. I know we lost by 20, but I don’t feel like this was a 20-point game at all.”

The top-seeded Blue Devils (20-2) open their Division IV tournament run with Bloomfield on Tuesday and with a win, will advance to face Ashtabula St. John in a sectional bracket final.

Staff photo / Brian Yauger Miles Culp of McDonald makes a push toward the basket during the second half of Friday’s game. Culp led the Blue Devils with 24 points.

Struthers, also top-seeded in Division II, opens the tournament with Northeast-8 rival Niles on Tuesday. While Struthers beat the Red Dragons in their only meeting this season, Wernicki mentioned how Niles gives them a challenge every single meeting.

“Niles plays us unbelievably tough every single time,” he said. “They’ve been out for so long, because of COVID they’ve had starts and stops, they scored 73 the other night. They’re starting to score. I don’t expect anything but a war on Tuesday night.

“They’re just one of those teams in the league that we can never pull away from. Coach (Doug) Foster does a tremendous job and you know he’s gonna have something ready for us.”