Preview: Austintown-Fitch Falcons vs. Elyria Pioneers
The Austintown-Fitch Falcons will face off against the Elyria Pioneers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Austintown-Fitch had no problem doing just that on Saturday. They managed a 74-69 win over the Warriors. Austintown-Fitch's offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Deshawn Vaughn and Marcel Finkley were among the main playmakers for Austintown-Fitch as the former scored 24 points along with six assists and the latter scored 30 points along with five rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Finkley has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Carter Owens, who scored 11 points.
Meanwhile, Elyria entered their tilt with Stow-Munroe Falls with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. Elyria walked away with a 53-44 victory over Stow-Munroe Falls on Friday. That's two games straight that Elyria has won by exactly nine points.
It was another big night for Jayden Crutcher, who scored 23 points along with five rebounds. He has been hot recently, having posted 16 or more points the last three times he's played. Xavier Church was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with five rebounds and two blocks.
Austintown-Fitch's win bumped their record up to 13-10. As for Elyria, they pushed their record up to 17-6 with that win, which was their seventh straight at home.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Austintown-Fitch have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 24.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Elyria struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.4 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
