Falcons’ Pangio gets 22 points, 20 rebounds in victory

January 9, 2016 at 12:05a.m.

By Steve ruman

NILES

Austintown Fitch and Niles McKinley both entered their game Friday with four wins, but there was a sense that the Falcons and Red Dragons were headed in opposite directions.

Fitch played well in its four losses this year. Those setbacks came at the hands of Mentor, Poland, Canfield and Warren Harding — four schools with a combined record of 31-6.

Niles, meanwhile, had lost four straight after opening the season with a 4-1 start.

The trend continued for both teams Friday as Fitch logged a 59-48 road win at Veterans Memorial Gymnasium. The Falcons (5-4) were led by senior Anthony Pangio, who scored 22 points and pulled down a game-high 20 rebounds. Scott Duffy and Derek Gunter added 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the visitors.

Niles was paced by senior Cameron Kane-Johnson, who had a game-high 27 points. Kane-Johnson scored 19 points after intermission to help make things interesting, but it wasn’t enough. Niles’ second-leading scorer was Isaiah Warner, whose six points came on a pair of threes in the first half.

Gunter scored the game’s first points on a 3-pointer, and Fitch never trailed. Pangio scored seven points in the first eight minutes of play as the Falcons led 18-8 after the first period, and took a 30-19 advantage into intermission.

“These guys know that we’ve battled some really good teams this year, we’ve had some quality losses,” said Fitch coach Brian Beany. “We don’t quit, we don’t keep our heads down when we lose, and we seem to learn from our mistakes.

“We came out tonight and executed the way we needed to against a good Niles team. We had a game plan going into the night and the guys executed really well.”

Niles shot just 23 percent from the field in the first half (6 of 43 from the 3-point line on the night), but heated up in the second half to pull to within 37-36 at the end of the third period. Kane-Johnson led the spark with 13 points in the third quarter.

Gunter opened the final quarter with a 3-pointer to give Fitch a 40-36 lead. Niles pulled within two points on three occasions. Midway through the fourth quarter, Rich Limongi hit a pair of free throws to cut the Dragons’ deficit to 45-43. Niles then gained possession and had a chance to either tie the game or take the lead, but Duffy stole a pass, scored on a layup and hit a free throw to convert a three-point play.

Fitch began pulling away from that point.

“This is a senior group, and when the game got tight I let them figure things out,” Beany said. “They know what they’re supposed to do. They know where they’re supposed to be. We made the plays and we made the shots down the stretch when we needed to the most.”

Pangio, a three-year starter, is returning to form after injuring his back last fall.

“We knew we had a size advantage going into the game, so I went in with the mindset of being aggressive and going after the ball,” Pangio said. “Coach always preaches about going in there with two hands and being aggressive on the boards, and that’s what I tried to do tonight.”

Despite his strong scoring night, the 6-foot-5 Pangio said he was most proud of his 20-rebound performance.

“Against a good shooting team like Niles, it’s all about limiting them to one shot,” he said. “I felt like the more rebounds I got, the less chances they had to get back into the game.”