Canfield claims hard-fought win over Austintown Fitch, 51-48

The Canfield Cardinals went to Austintown Fitch and came home with a hard-fought victory in front of a raucous crowd as they defeated the host Falcons 51-48 on Friday night.

The visitors didn’t let a hostile environment or the fact that Fitch had the edge in size and athleticism stop them from consistently being the first to loose balls and rebounds all game.

“Sometimes the best you can do is knock it loose and get to it on the floor,” Canfield head coach John Cullen said. “Athletically, we really can’t match up with them, but basketball-wise, we can, and we did that.”

The Cardinals held the Fitch offense to just 4 points in the second quarter, taking a 23-16 lead to the locker room at halftime.

Both teams played evenly in the second half, with neither team able to take a commanding lead at any point.

Every possession was crucial down the stretch as Canfield attempted to hold off the Falcons.

Canfield senior guard Tony Russo hit some clutch free throws down the stretch, including two with 10 seconds to play to give the Cardinals a 5-point lead. The free throws came after junior point guard Drew Shapiro knocked the ball off a Falcons player to gain possession only up 3.

Russo and Dom Castronova had 12 points for Canfield.

Marcel Finkley led Fitch with 20 points and Carter Owens added 17.

Canfield moves their record to 8-2 with the win and will face Green on Jan. 14. Austintown Fitch drops their third in a row to fall to 5-4 on the season. The Falcons play Boardman on Tuesday night.

CONNECT WITH US

DAILY NEWS EMAIL ► https://www.mahoningmatters.com/customer-service/newsletter-signup/

FACEBOOK ► https://www.facebook.com/mahoningmatters

TWITTER ► https://twitter.com/mahoningmatters

YOUTUBE ► https://www.youtube.com/@mahoningmatters2814

INSTAGRAM ► https://www.instagram.com/mahoningmatters

SUPPORT US ► https://givebutter.com/vNfzEW