HOWLAND TAKES CLASH OF THE TIGERS
By Ty Bartell
NEWTON FALLS OH- In the wild, Tigers are known to be fiercely territorial animals and will quite often assert their dominance on other tigers that stumbled upon their land. In Trumbull County, a pair of tigers call the same area home in The Newton Falls Tigers and The Howland Tigers, taking it to the court to determine Trumbull County’s top tiger!
Howland started fast by getting on an early 9-0 run to take an early advantage on the road at Newton Falls. Alex Henry helped his team with 7 points in the first quarter for Howlad, helping them hold a 13-5 lead after the opening quarter. The Tigers from Howland were able to keep pace in the second, while Newton Falls also, unfortunately, paced themselves with the previous quarter as Howland outscored The Falls 16-5 in the second. Effectively holding a 29-10 lead at the halftime buzzer.
Starting the second half, Newton Falls’ Jabriel Rufai got the energy going in the gym with a one handed dunk and a three pointer to follow as The Falls were trying to get momentum back in their court! However, Howland still managed to be a bucket better at 12-9 scoring in the third quarter and a 41-19 Howland lead after three. Up by 22 points, Howlandwas playing with all the momentum as they attempted to ride out the lead en route to a .500 record. Newton Falls would put together their strongest quarter of the night, outsourcing Howland 19-10 in the fourth! But it would not be enough, as Howland is Trumbull County’s Top Tiger this year with a 51-38 win over The Falls.
The Player of the Game performance was in the hands of Alex Henry, as The Howland point guard dished and served to his teammates, getting them involved, while also scoring a game-high 22 points in the contest! Anthony Chieffo followed Henry in scoring on Howland with 8 points, while Luca Fronzaglio and Chris Fenton each had 5 points. Newton Falls was led by Cameron Huff who finished with 9 points, followed by Jabriel Rufai with 7 points and Ethan Powell with 6 points. Interviews with both Alex Henry and Head Coach Dan Bubon can be found below!
Howland (4-4) next matchup will come after the holiday on Thursday, December 28th when they travel to Hudson to battle The Explorers (6-2). Meanwhile, Newton Falls (2-4) will try to right the ship when they host Lakeview (4-2) on Friday, December 29th. Catch both The Howland Tigers and The Newton Falls Tigers basketball this season with live games, scores, stats, stories and more on YSN!
