Basketball Recap: Darren Douglas' Big Game Can't Quite Lead Howland over Austintown-Fitch

If Howland was riding high fresh off their 61-38 takedown of McKinley last Wednesday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Howland Tigers came up short against the Austintown-Fitch Falcons on Friday, falling 60-40. Sadly, that's the second time they've come up short against the Tigers this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 64-49 back in January.

Howland lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Darren Douglas, who posted ten points and eight boards. Those eight rebounds gave Douglas a new career-high. Steven Bubon was another key player, putting up nine points.

Marcel Finkley was his usual excellent self, going 8 of 16 on his way to 24 points for Austintown-Fitch. Finkley also posted a block, marking his first of the season. Another player making a difference was Ej Giles, who earned ten points and six boards.

Howland has been struggling recently as they've lost seven of their last eight matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-9 record this season. As for Austintown-Fitch, with the win, they broke their three-game losing streak and moved their record to 8-10.

When Howland and Austintown-Fitch next hit the court, they'll be up against teams who recently just can't seem to lose. Howland will square off against Boardman and their three-game winning streak at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Similarly, Austintown-Fitch will try to stop Washington's seven-game winning streak when the meet at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.