Preview: Austintown-Fitch Falcons vs. Harding Raiders
The Austintown-Fitch Falcons will head out on the road to face off against the Harding Raiders at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Austintown-Fitch focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 17 on Sunday.
Last Sunday, Austintown-Fitch was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 51-45 to Newark. While losing is never fun, Austintown-Fitch can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 139th, while Newark is ranked 16th).
Despite their loss, Austintown-Fitch saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Deshawn Vaughn, who scored 16 points along with two steals, was perhaps the best of all. The team also got some help courtesy of Allen Hill jr, who scored seven points along with ten rebounds and two blocks.
Meanwhile, Harding pushed their score all the way to 58 on Tuesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They took a 63-58 hit to the loss column at the hands of Canfield.
Austintown-Fitch's record now sits at 7-5. Harding's record is now 7-5.
Austintown-Fitch came up short against Harding when the teams last played back in February of 2023, falling 57-45. Can Austintown-Fitch avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
