TIGERS TAKE A STEP UP THE MOUNTAIN
By Matt Maher
LEAVITTSBURG, OH – Two of the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference’s (MVAC) beast ducked it out Tuesday night when LaBrae welcomed Newton falls to town. While LaBrae sits atop the MVAC Grey division it was the Tigers (3rd) who would climb the mountain and take down the Vikings by the final score of 64-56.
These two juggernauts battled in a close first quarter where the tigers would narrowly lead 14-12 after the first 8 minutes. The Vikings held multiple 5 point leads in this frame but Newton Falls found their groove in the second 4 minutes and set the tone moving forward. LaBrae saw Austin Rowe lead his team with 5 points, 3 made free throws including an and-1 and David Blackmon III would add 4 points in the paint as well. Carson Howard led his squad with 5 points in the first and Jabriel Rufai snatched another 4.
The second Quarter was where the Tigers truly took control with 17 points to LaBraes 6 it wasn’t even close. Rowe added a nice 3 and Blackmon found a 2 and went 1-for-2 from the line to account for all Vikings points. Newton Falls saw Landon Mcgregor enter the chat with three made 2’s for 6 points while Howard continued to score with 5 more points.
Newton Falls continued to outdo themselves coming out of the break with 21 points but LaBrae kept close by with 17 points. LaBrae saw Jay McGarry score his first 5 points while Rowe hit a 3 and went 2-for-2 from the line and Jackson Lancaster found 3 more points with a 2 and 1 of 2 made free throws. Cameron Huff found himself on top of his team with 6 points all from beyond the arc which is where he excels from. Zach Stinson added 5 more points with two 2’s including an and-1.
LaBrae found life in the 3rd with an impressive 21 point performance and much better defense that limited Newton falls to just 12 points. Huff found 6 more points from beyond the arc while both Howard and Rufai had the same point line with a made 2 and going 1-for-2 from the line for 3 points each. Austin Rowe looked rejuvenated this frame with three made 3’s all from well beyond the arc he really turned it up. Derek Wilson scored 8 points, all 2’s and Owen Boone brought the boom with two made 2’s.
Despite a good second half and Austin Rowes 22 point night, the Vikings just couldn’t stop the Tigers who built momentum off of a dominant 2nd quarter and great play from Carson Howard with 16 points and Cameron Huff with 14 as well as solid team play. Newton Falls (10-4, 6-2) will be home on January 26th to take on the Liberty Leopards at 7:00PM while LaBrae (11-2, 7-1) will stay home to take on the Champion Golden Flashes on January 26th at 7:00PM.
