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Driver powers Fitch to victory in opener
By JOE CATULLO JR.
HOWLAND
Austintown Fitch High school basketball player Jessie Driver did a little bit of everything Friday night.
The funny thing is that he only scored six points and missed numerous wide-open looks. But even if he’s not scoring, it doesn’t matter to him as long as the Falcons win, which they did over Howland, 73-51.
“I’ve been with these guys for four years now,” Driver said. “I got to love them and pass the ball. I’m not a selfish player.
“Scoring points, to me, is nothing if we don’t win the game.”
Driver nearly had a triple-double with those six points along with eight rebounds and nine assists.
“He was our leading rebounder last year,” Fitch coach Brian Beany said. “He had some open shots that he missed, but that will come.
“Jessie can score a lot, he can rebound a lot, [and] he can dish a lot. He can pretty much do anything.”
Most of Driver’s assists went to Anthony Pangio. He finished with 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
“He always breaks his man down,” Pangio said, discussing Driver. “I just got to get my hands ready, wait for the pass and put it up when he gives it to me.”
One huge factor in the game was rebounding. Fitch (1-0) collected 46 (21 offensive) while the Tigers (0-2) grabbed 22. The Falcons had one more offensive rebounds in the first half than Howland had total (12-11).
“We preach that we want to get a lot of shots up this year. But, also, we want to get those second chance points,” Beany said. “We want to crash the boards, and that just leads to easy baskets.”
Alex DiFrancesco scored a team-high 19 points and nabbed six rebounds. For Howland, Reece Bogan finished with a game-high 22 points while Julian Lanier scored 11.
“There’s a lot on his shoulders right now,” Howland coach Bill Bogan said regarding his son. “He’s a 16-year-old sophomore, but I think he really relishes that. He’s ready to take it on.”
Fitch, who received its football players back just nine days ago, started a little rusty but quickly turned the page. The Falcons’ offense was almost unstoppable in the second quarter, scoring 25 points while forcing six turnovers. They led by 25 points at halftime.
The Tigers then owned the first seven minutes of the third quarter with a 15-4 scoring run, cutting the deficit to 14 with 1:28 remaining.
“We were playing too fast,” Bogan said. “We just needed to slow down and execute. We came out in the third and executed. We defended a little better also, so that helped the run.”
Since a timeout was called during that stretch, the Falcons finished the third quarter on a 6-0 run. Driver said intensity brought them back.
“Coach pulled us to the sideline and didn’t say a word to us, really. We talked it out to each other. If we’re going to win, we’re going to win big, so that’s what we tried to do.”