Canfield avenges its big loss to Fitch

By Steve Wilaj

sports@vindy.com

CANFIELD

One thing was apparent to Canfield after it digested its 40-point loss at Austintown Fitch on Jan. 2.

“We realized that just wasn’t us that night,” senior captain Mike Yourstowsky said.

Tuesday’s rematch featured the more-recognizable Cardinals squad.

Behind balanced scoring and strong defense, Canfield got its revenge on the Falcons with a 54-44 victory at James W. Watkins Gymnasium. The Cardinals — led by Yourstowsky’s 18 points and Mason Mangapora’s 11 — used a 17-4 second-quarter run to take control.

“We wanted to come in confident and play with nothing to lose,” Yourstowsky said. “Tonight we learned that we have to stay together as a team.”

Fitch coach Brian Beany — who’s team was led by Anthony Pangio’s 15 points — said the Falcons (5-4, 2-3 All-American Conference, Red) knew they’d be in for a battle.

“After the first game, we preached that we’re gonna go to [Canfield] and it’s gonna be a totally different game,” Beany said. “We had to match their intensity. At times we matched it, at times we didn’t.”

One of those times was the second quarter. Trailing 13-9 after the first eight minutes, Canfield (9-3, 5-2 All-American Conference, Red) used a 13-0 run in the second period to help take a 26-17 halftime lead.

“We started to understand that when we get the ball in good spots in our sets, good things were going to happen,” said Cardinals coach Todd Muckleroy. “We had to have better energy [than the first matchup] and that’s something that we did.”

That energy showed particularly on defense, as Beany said Canfield’s man-to-man pressure caused problems.

“We did a good job against their zone early — hit some shots inside and outside,” he said. “Then they went out of it and did a nice job in the man-to-man. It forced us out of some things we like to do. And a lot of times we just didn’t execute very well.”

The Falcons executed better in the third, outscoring Canfield 15-10 to cut their deficit to 36-32. But a stiff Cardinals defense, 10 fourth-quarter points from Yourstowsky and a 9-of-10 performance at the foul line buried Fitch.

The Cardinals finished 17 of 19 from the foul line, while Fitch made 5 of 6.

“We harp big on free throws,” Yourstowsky said. “So we knocked them down tonight and that helped get us the ‘W.’”

Jake Cummings and Vince Leone scored nine points apiece for Canfield, which Muckleroy described as a team that’s “growing right in front of me.”

“They’re pretty resilient,” he said. “I hope they understand that a lot of the things that we can control will put you in good situations to win games — effort, energy and believing in your teammates.”

Fitch — which also got 12 points from Jake Bullen — is still experiencing growing pains. The Falcons have lost three games by six or fewer points.

“They know what they have to do,” Beany said. “It’s just a matter of doing it. Hopefully you learn from these.”