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McGraw scores 24 as Canfield tops Fitch
By Greg Gulas
AUSTINTOWN
Canfield’s Ian McGraw doesn’t mind that he is the first player off the bench for head coach Todd Muckleroy.
On Saturday night, the Austintown Fitch Falcons wished that both McGraw and his teammate Zach Tinkey could have remained seated.
McGraw scored a game-high 24 points, Tinkey added 18 and the two combined to register 11 of the Cardinals’ 14 triples to lead the Cardinals to a 77-57 win over Austintown Fitch in an All-American Conference, Red Tier basketball game.
It was a game that featured 20 buckets from beyond the arc, three conventional three-point plays and McGraw canning all three of his free throws after he was fouled in the act of shooting a 3-pointer.
“I play my role and am just happy to do whatever it takes in order for us to get a win,” McGraw said. “Our goal hasn’t changed from last year; our mentality has, however. We have nine seniors that provide leadership and everyone worked really hard in the off-season on all areas of our game, especially defensively.”
Held scoreless in the opening period, McGraw scored 15 of his points and knocked down three of his five triples in the second frame, noting that he felt especially comfortable shooting during pre-game warm-ups.
“I’ve always shot well in this gym and felt pretty good during our pregame warmup,” he said. “It helps to have the green light from coach and our staff, knowing that if I miss a shot I can move on to the next shot and continue shooting. Credit my teammates because they make everything possible. They find me when I’m open, their passes are always right there and they give me confidence when I take a shot.”
The Falcons (2-3, 0-2) raced to the early 7-6 lead on a triple by Emanuel Dawkins and buckets by Cole Constance and Blake Baker, offsetting triples by Tinkey and Aydin Hanousek.
Triples by Hanousek and Ben Shapiro then keyed an 8-0 run by Canfield (4-0, 2-0) as it opened a 14-10 lead heading to the second period.
Like McGraw, Tinkey called out his teammates for their unselfish play.
“I owe it all to my teammates because they always seem to find me when I am open, then get me the ball when I am in good shooting position,” Tinkey said. “Our defense sets up our offense and that really showed tonight. Ian is an excellent shooter and did a great job tonight at both ends of the court.”
Emanuel Dawkins had 11 of his team-high 20 markers in the second quarter and helped the Falcons to their last lead at 17-14 just 78 seconds into the period.
Canfield then went on a 21-11 run to forge a 37-28 lead before settling for a 42-33 lead at intermission.
“What you saw from Ian tonight is what we expect of him every time he enters the game,” Muckleroy said. “He’s great off the bench, plays bigger than his size and rebounds really well. He’s a pretty darn good package.
“Zach played his best game to date and was on from behind the arc as well. This was a great team effort and while we have some areas that still need some work, good shooting kind of masks that which is the beauty of film.”
Back-to-back buckets by Dawkins and a triple from Randy Smith pulled the Falcons to within 42-40 at 4:57 of the third period, but a 14-0 run by Canfield, which included two buckets each from downtown by both Tinkey and McGraw staked the Cardinals to a 56-40 lead and a 59-46 advantage heading to the final period.
“When you are down and have to play catch-up, you work so hard to get back into the game. We were then able to pull to within 42-40 at the outset of the third period,” Falcons head coach Brian Beany said.
“As you work, the other team also responds and after a few bad possessions you’re back to playing catch-up. Give Canfield credit because they made their open looks. We didn’t do a good job of identifying the open shooter tonight and that is something that we must work on.”
Six points each from Tinkey and Spencer Woolley in the final quarter helped seal the Cardinals’ victory.
Woolley was the other Cardinals player in double figures with 13 while Dylan Beany and A.J. Green each added 10 points for the Falcons.