Eargle, Aikens spark Fitch
They combined for 44 points in the 68-55 win over Canfield.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CANFIELD -- As far as tandems go, Austintown Fitch's guard duo of Terrell Eargle and Mark Aikens is hard to top.
The senior guards helped spoil Canfield's "Senior Night" by scoring 44 points in a 68-55 victory over the Cardinals.
"I don't know if you'll find a better tandem anywhere," Canfield coach John Cullen said. "These guys pose a problem on both ends of the floor."
Made things happen
The guards consistently made things happen with their quickness on defense and their abilities to create shots on offense.
In addition to scoring a game-high 26 points, Eargle grabbed eight rebounds and blocked several shots while Aikens was a force in causing 20 Canfield turnovers. He finished with 18 points.
"Those are our go-to guys," Fitch coach Gary Conroy said. "When you have those two, you are a good high school basketball team.
"They say three good players will put you over the top, and if we could find that third guy consistently, we would be a very good team," Conroy said.
Against Canfield (15-5), all three of the remaining Falcons starters stepped up their games. The result was that the Cardinals struggled to stay in the game after a close first quarter that ended 18-17.
Canfield shot the ball well in the first quarter by making 7-of-12 shots and continued to shoot well for the entire game.
Turnovers, however, and the inability to get second-chance points continued to hurt the Cardinals this season.
"I think we think we're never going to miss a shot so we don't go after the misses," Cullen said. "That's been our weakness all year with our shooters."
Fitch (14-6) slowly pulled away in the second and third quarters as Eargle and Aikens always seemed to find a way to score.
"The kids played hard," Conroy said. "We started off passive, but at halftime we talked about taking the ball to the basket.
"Sometimes we want to go one-on-one too much instead of making a couple of passes, but tonight we executed much better."
Cardinals last run
After opening a 15-point lead early in the fourth quarter, Canfield's Frank Turocy scored seven of his 17 points in the final period to help Canfield make a last run at the Falcons.
The Cardinals got as close as eight points late in the game before the Falcons sealed the win at the free-throw line.
"I like how we are playing heading into the tournament," said Conroy, whose team will be in the Division I district at Canton. "We'll put our best five players on the court and see what happens."
Cullen said that playing the Falcons late in the regular season is like playing a tournament game.
"This is a district championship game," Canfield said of the neighborhood rivalry.
"This is a team that is as good or better than any team in our district. It's a good matchup to get us ready for the tournament."
The veteran coach said good-bye to a strong senior class in pre-game ceremonies, but said he expects his team to make a strong run in the Div. II tournament at Boardman.