With heart and hustle, East defeats Fitch

By Jim Flick

sports@vindy.com

AUSTINTOWN

The Youngstown East High boys basketball team used a balanced scoring attack and strong play under the boards to defeat Austintown Fitch 55-48 Tuesday night.

Fitch coach Brian Beany said the Panthers did exactly what his team expected.

“East beat us on the hustle stuff,” Beany said. “They just took the ball strong to the basket. It was just a matter of could we handle it, and obviously by the score tonight, we couldn’t.”

East took the lead in the opening moments of the game, and led by as much as nine points. However, the Falcons kept coming back, trailing by only four points, 52-48, with 50 seconds remaining.

A field goal by junior Jamir Humphrey and a free throw by sophomore Terrell McClain sealed the deal for the Panthers.

“I have to give my kids credit — they sucked it up and did what they had to do to finish the game,” East coach Mark Cherol said. “I told my kids at halftime, ‘They will not quit, they’ll come after you.’”

Deontay Scott, a 6-foot-3 junior, led East (10-6) with 17 points and nine rebounds.

“I was just playing hard, I didn’t want to lose,” said Scott, adding that playing in the paint is his strong suit. “That’s where I get my points.”

Junior Taylor Humphrey contributed eight points to the Panthers’ offense while senior Mike Hornbuckle added seven points, including the team’s only 3-pointer.

“We played hard and never quit,” said junior Taylor Johnson, who tallied 12 points. “You work as a team, you win as a team.”

On the other hand, Fitch’s offense largely depended on a single scoring threat.

In the first half, the Falcons’ offense depended on 6-5 senior Dan Chepke, who scored his team’s first 13 points and every basket in the first quarter. His teammates added only five points in the first half. Chepke finished with 17.

“One or two guys were stepping up, and that was it,” Beany said. “Danny Chepke can’t do it all in the first half, and Will Mahone can’t do it all in the second half. We need some supporting cast.”

Mahone took over as the Falcons’ offense threat in the second half scoring 24 of their 30 points in the final 16 minutes. Mahone had a game-high 26 points.

East out-rebounded Fitch, 32-28.