Guido lifts Howland over Canfield, 58-56

By Jon Moffett

Drew Guido scored the final four points to rally the Tigers to their 10th win.

HOWLAND — Howland High boys basketball fans are used to seeing Donald Andres jumping on the sideline.

But even senior Tyler Scott was caught off guard when the coach leaped into his arms Tuesday.

“He was very excited,” Scott said of Andres. “When you beat Canfield it’s always a good feeling.”

Playing the Cardinals for the second time in four days, the Tigers looked to exact revenge on Canfield, which defeated them Saturday.

A thrilling 58-56 victory Tuesday night over their rival gave the Tigers (10-5, 3-1) the revenge they craved and a new hope in the All-American Conference Red Tier.

The loss handed Canfield (10-5, 3-1) its first conference defeat, and evened its record with the Tigers.

Senior Drew Guido of Howland sank two free throws with 1:26 left in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 56 apiece.

Strong defense prevented another score, and Andres called a time out with 30 seconds left, hoping to give his team the last shot. Senior Tyler Scott dribbled the ball, looking for a teammate and found an open Guido for the go-ahead and winning basket.

Guido said the play was designed to go elsewhere, but the Canfield defense read it and snuffed it out.

“We kind of wanted to go to [Kyle] Spence or [Jared] Kirwin because they’re our scorers,” Guido said. “But we play as a team and I was open. These guys had confidence in me, they gave me the ball and I made the play.”

Canfield received the ball with eight seconds left and had time for one shot. Junior Mike Podlosky heaved a desperation 3-point shot, but it fell short. As the ball hit the court, so did the Howland student section. Students swarmed the team and Andres jumped on Scott.

“This is a big win for our program,” Andres said. “These kids have scrapped and scraped [all year].”

Both offenses got off to a slow start. Canfield allowed only two baskets in the first quarter and led 9-4. More than a minute and a half had expired before the first basket was made.

Scoring picked up slightly in the second quarter. Canfield looked to be controlling its second consecutive game against Howland, leading 23-18 going into the half. But a behind-the-back pass from Guido to Spence got the team, and the crowd, back into the game. About a dozen Canfield students comprised the student section, but their enthusiastic cheering was no match for the thunder being created on the bleachers across from them.

With 47 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Canfield’s Eli Lamberson nailed a 3-pointer and was fouled. Lamberson made the free throw to give the Cardinals a 39-34 advantage. But Guido passed the ball to Scott, who made the shot as time expired in the quarter. Guido finished with 10 points. Scott scored a game-high 17 and Spence was behind him with 13.

While the game was physical, there weren’t many trips to the foul line by either side. Canfield finished shooting 8-for-13 and Howland finished 9-for-11. Though the loss was “very disappointing” to Canfield’s John Cullen, he said he isn’t too worried about the rest of the season.

“We’re still in a position to control our own destiny,” he said. “It’ll be harder to win the league outright.”

He added that the mistakes the team made will be corrected going forward.

“Experience is the best teacher,” he said. “We’ll get better.”

jmoffett@vindy.com