That win also marked the 100th career victory for Falcons coach Brian Beany, who was recognized for his accomplishment prior to Fitch’s season opener against Hudson.

Unfortunately for Fitch, the Explorers found themselves a 48-33 season-opening road win against an Austintown team that struggled on the offensive end.

Win or lose, Beany is just happy to be back on the floor in 2020.

“It felt great,” he said. “There’s always that uncertainty of, when are we going to get back on the court? We’re fortunate to have an opportunity to get out there and play.

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Fitch junior Allen Underwood secures the loose ball at midcourt during the second half against Hudson.

“Obviously, at times, it looked like it was our first game and Hudson went through some streaks as well. It was good to get out there and get your feet wet, but I’m super proud of the guys’ effort, they played extremely hard. We just have to get better at the offensive end here a little bit and that’ll come.”

Neither squad came out of the gates blazing, with Hudson taking an early 9-5 lead after the first eight minutes. Fitch senior Todd Simons knocked down a 3-pointer to begin the second quarter and cut the deficit to one, but that’s as close as the Falcons came to tying the game.

In fact, that bucket was the only score for Austintown during the second quarter, with the Explorers carrying a 20-8 lead into the locker room at halftime, after outscoring the Falcons 11-2 in the period.

A pair of Fitch freshman, Dan Evans and DeShawn Vaughn, helped Austintown put some points on the board following intermission. They, along with Simons, helped cut the lead down to 29-20 going into the fourth.

Early in the final period, Simons hit a free throw, then rebounded and scored on his own miss on the next offensive possession to cap a 7-0 run which made it a 29-23 midway though the fourth quarter, but Hudson wouldn’t allow their lead to slip.

A 6-0 run, which was emphasized by a thunderous dunk from Hudson (1-0) senior Tyler Miller, helped fend off Fitch’s comeback.

“We didn’t shoot particularly well, but there was some possessions in the second half where we had some really good looks, we just weren’t able to capitalize,” Beany said. “Defensive effort, with the exception of a couple of those breakaways there at the end, I’ll take that effort there every single time. We’ve just got to be better at the offensive end, but I’m proud of the guys.”

Simons led Fitch with 13 points, along with fellow senior Isaac Boyd and Evans who each scored six. Miller tied Simons’ game-high by recording 13 himself for Hudson.

The Falcons (0-1) don’t have time to hang their heads, as tonight they’ll host a strong Struthers team coming off a 64-51 win over Canfield earlier in the week.

Last season, the Falcons were on the wrong end of an 83-57 loss against the Wildcats at the Struthers Fieldhouse.

Beany said he thinks the early season showdown will be good for his team.

“It’s going to be a test for our physicality in the sense of, now we’ve got to regroup and just do it all over again with that same type of intensity and effort and stuff like that.

“It’ll be a challenge, but they’re teenagers, they’ll do it.”