FITCH CLAIMS COMPETITIVE SEASON OPENER
By Ty Bartell
AUSTINTOWN OH- The first day of December, the opener to the Christmas season but also the opener to high school boys basketball in the state of Ohio! Multiple YSN teams utilized the first possible day to schedule games with plenty of teams on the network for the season tip-off. One of those games being The Austintown-Fitch Falcons battling The Massillon-Perry Panthers. Both teams have a similar build with a lot of talented underclassmen looking to make a splash this season. The Falcons will be looking to compete for the top spot in a very open All American Conference (AAC) this year, while on the other hand, Perry will, once again, be playing in the notoriously tough Federal League where anything can happen any given year.
A high-scoring first quarter got the fans rocking and rolling early on with Fitch leading 18-16 after a quarter, with Marcel Finkley scoring 9 of the points for Austintown. The second quarter was similar to the first and both The Panthers and Falcons had similar quarters, baking up a baker’s dozen worth of points in the second with Fitch edging out Perry 31-29 at the halftime buzzer. Finkley had 18 at the half for Fitch and Luke Wolf had 11 points to lead The Panthers at the half.
The third quarter went well for The Falcons as they turned defense into offense quickly on multiple occasions in the third, out scoring Perry 16-7 in the quarter to take a 47-36 lead into the fourth! However, The Panthers were able to sink their claws into some offense by flipping the script on Fitch and going on a big run in the fourth, while the lid was seemingly on the bucket for Austintown in the waning minutes of the fourth. Luke Wolf continued his hot shooting hand and finished with 25 points to lead Perry and the game in scoring; however, it would not be enough as Fitch pulled away with the 51-47 win with a clutch free throw made by Carter Owens to seal it.
Leading the way in scoring for Fitch was Marcel Finkley who finished with 23 points on the night as well as finding his teammates through the evening. His play was more than enough to earn him The Player of the Game! Other Falcons with productive nights scoring the ball included Allex Hill and Carter Owens who both finished with 9 points and Allen Hill who finished with 7 points. Interviews with Marcel Finkley and Fitch Head Coach Brian Beany can be found below!
Fitch (1-0) will now look ahead to Tuesday, December 5th when they hit the road to battle Canton Central Catholic in The Crusaders season opener! While Perry (0-1) will wait a week before getting back in-action, this time traveling to Uniontown Lake to battle The Blue Streaks on Friday, December 8th. Keep updated with all Austintown-Fitch winter sports this season with live games, scores, stats, stories and more on YSN!
