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Austintown, Ohio – The Austintown Fitch Falcons defeated the visiting Copley Indians, 65-43, Tuesday evening in a non-conference contest.
The Falcons jumped out to a 16-7 lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to an aggressive defensive effort. Fitch forced multiple Copley turnovers and turned them into points on the other end.
Austintown Fitch would pad their lead to as much as 20-9 in the second quarter before the Indians responded with five quick points. Trent Wininger cashed in a triple from long range, and Wendell Parks converted a steal into points on the next possession, cutting the deficit to 20-14.
The Falcons responded with a 6-0 run to close the half and increase their lead to 26-14. Marcel Finkley and Gianni Maley each had ten points for Austintown Fitch.
Although Copley struggled in the first half due to several turnovers. However, the Indians’ fortunes would turn around in the third quarter.
They would ramp up the pressure on defense and turn them into buckets. Trent Wininger sank a pair of triples. Senior Ben Firestine also had a pair of buckets. This was all part of a 16-6 run that cut the Fitch lead to 32-30 with 4:36 left in the third.
Coming out of a timeout, it didn’t take Fitch long to respond, as a pair of scores from Marcel Finkley and Gianni Maley increased the lead to 36-30. They would lead 44-37 after the third quarter.
A Gianni Maley layup, followed up by a Carter Owens triple padded the lead to 49-37 in the fourth. Like the first half, the Falcons turned up the heat on defense. Thanks to these efforts, the Falcons would increase their lead to 55-39, effectively putting the game away.
Austintown Fitch (9-4) travels to Ursuline on Friday, January 20th. Senior guard Gianni Maley and sophomore guard Marcel Finkley each had 24 points for the Falcons.
Copley (6-6) travels to Aurora on Friday, January 20th to continue Suburban League American Division play. They were led by junior guard Trent Wininger, who had 16 points.
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