FALCONS STAY STREAKING

CLEVELAND OH- In the second game of the girls and boys doubleheader, the home of The Cavs, Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse was the venue for an All-American Conference (AAC) matchup! Coach Bubon and The Howland Tigers played home team to their conference foe in The Austintown Fitch Falcons, led by Coach Beany. Howland came in the Monday afternoon contest sporting a 6-2 record, while Fitch came in 5-3. However, it would be the first conference game for either school on the boys side this season and the first AAC conference game on the boys side overall! 

The Tigers, winners of two straight versus Hubbard and Brookfield, came in with a ton of confidence. Showcasing their great passing ability this season, Howland has demonstrated unselfish basketball that often leads to open looks and, ultimately, wins this year. The Falcons were also riding with momentum, emerging victorious at The Hudson Holiday Tournament where they matched up with a powerhouse in Walsh Jesuit. Going to overtime with The Warriors, Fitch would grab the monstrous victory before The New Year. 

Austintown was not messing around, going on a 9-2 run and capturing an early advantage on Howland. Buckets coming from a multitude of ways, Fitch was finding offense from multiple sources. The Tigers found a sharpshooter from Alex Henry, who often starts the passing engine that is The Tiger offense. But on the big stage, Henry found some buckets that battled Howland back, trimming the deficit to just a single point, 13-14 against Fitch. The Falcons would build on their lead before the half, holding the advantage 20-13 at the halftime break. 

Out of the half, Fitch would go on an 11-0 run to start the third quarter to immediately take momentum by force. The Tigers were creating the looks needed to contend, but the third quarter was not friendly to Howland, with multiple shots rimming out. Fitch would expand on the shooting woes of their adversaries, capping the quarter off with an NBA distance three pointer from Gianni Maley, that gave Fitch a 38-18 lead heading into the final eight minutes. In the final quarter, The Falcons flew with the gust of momentum and rode it all the way to victory. After going 0-2 against The Tigers a season ago, Fitch was able to emerge victorious by the final score of 50-29. 

After the loss, Howland(6-3)(0-1) will look to redirect their attention, hosting cross-town rival The Warren Harding Raiders(4-3)(0-0) on Friday, January 6th. After the early conference win, Fitch (6-3)(1-0) will also stay in the AAC, as they will host their big rival in The Boardman Spartans(4-5)(0-0) on Friday as well!

*Contributed By YSN’s Ty Bartell