SPARTANS RALLY PAST FALCONS IN AAC SHOWDOWN
By Ty Bartell
AUSTINTOWN, Ohio — The Boardman Spartans secured a hard-fought 74-70 road win over All-American Conference (AAC) rival Austintown-Fitch on Tuesday night in a back-and-forth battle that came down to the final minutes.
The game opened with a tightly contested first quarter, as the teams were deadlocked at 18-18. Boardman edged ahead by halftime, building a 38-33 lead behind balanced scoring efforts. However, the third quarter saw a surge from Fitch, led by a dominant performance from Marcel Finkley, who tallied a game-high 27 points. The Falcons outscored the Spartans 19-7 in the period to take a 52-45 advantage into the fourth quarter.
The Spartans responded with resilience in the final frame, rallying with a 29-point explosion to retake the lead and secure the victory. Boardman was paced by Kaden Mayhew’s 18 points, with Terell McDowell contributing 16 and Grayson Eicher adding 14. Jerry “Trey” Smith and Zach Haus chipped in 9 and 8 points, respectively, to round out the balanced offensive attack.
Despite Finkley’s standout performance, the Falcons couldn’t maintain their third-quarter momentum. Carter Owens added 16 points, and Anthony Waller scored 11 for Fitch in the loss.
The win moves Boardman to 9-5 overall and 2-2 in AAC play. They’ll face a tough test on Friday, January 31, when they travel to take on state-ranked Warren G. Harding (13-3, 5-0 AAC) at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, Austintown-Fitch, now 7-10 overall and 1-4 in the AAC, will look to bounce back as they host the Howland Tigers (7-8, 0-6 AAC) on the same night.