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Austintown Falcons bounce back from overtime loss
By Steve ruman
NILES
They say that when you fall off a horse, the best thing to do is get right back on and ride again.
Austintown Fitch coach Brian Beany couldn’t agree more.
After seeing his Falcons lose on Friday in overtime fashion to league rival Poland, Beany was anxious to see his players saddle up and move forward.
Fortunately, the schedule — and some help from Mother Nature — allowed the Falcons to do just that. Because of a postponed game last Tuesday, Fitch traveled to Niles on Saturday night. The Falcons rebounded with a 70-50 win over the Red Dragons at Veterans Gymnasium.
The victory lifts the Falcons’ record to 12-2 (9-2 in the All-American Conference, American Division). Niles, which has lost six straight, falls to 5-10 (3-6)
“After such an emotional game (Friday), I was anxious to see how this team would respond,” Beany said. “You never know what to expect from young kids, but deep down I knew in my heart that this group would step up in a big way.
“I was pretty glad we were coming right back the next night and playing again. And I was very pleased with the way we responded.”
Indeed, Beany was given every reason to be satisfied with his team’s play. Senior Jessie Driver scored 12 points, and led a very balanced attack which saw 12 Fitch players score points. Anthony Pangio added 10 points, while Alex DiFrancesco and Nick Pence added 9 and 8, respectively.
Niles was paced by Kyle Paden’s 12 points. Cameron Kane came off the bench to score 10.
Early on, a game of runs had the two teams playing a back-and-forth affair. Down 11-5, Niles used a 10-0 run to take a 15-11 advantage in the early stages of the second period. However, Fitch responded with a 15-0 run of its own, and led 29-21 at intermission.
Driver scored nine points in the second quarter to help spark the Falcons surge.
“For the last three years, Jessie has had a knack for knowing when to turn it on,” Beany said. “He loves to get others involved, and a lot of times he is the facilitator and not the scorer. But then there are times where he puts up points in a hurry.”
On two occasions, Niles cut its deficit to five points in the early stages of the second half. However, Fitch put together a 17-2 run to pull away for good. Pangio scored six points in the third quarter, then nine Falcons dented the scorebook in a fourth quarter which saw Beany freely rotate players.
“We had an exhausting game (Friday), and we are very fortunate to have a deep and a strong bench which allowed us to give everyone a breather at the right time,” Beany said. “Our bench is a huge key to our success.”
Meanwhile, Driver said he was pleased that he and his teammates played with intensity from start to finish.
“Tonight was all about rebounding and moving forward,” Driver said. “We didn’t panic early when Niles made a run. We stayed composed and focused throughout the night.
“We want to be playing our best basketball heading into the tournament, and tonight was a good start to make that happen.”