AUSTINTOWN — For the love of the game. Enjoying the moment, even in a loss, can be a valuable lesson for a high school basketball team as they navigate through a season.

The Austintown Fitch Falcons (1-5) learned that lesson the hard way after they let a 10-point third quarter lead slip away at home on Tuesday against Alliance. The Aviators got past Fitch 80-76.

“I thought it was a pretty entertaining game,” Falcons coach Brian Beany said. “It was up and down. Both teams put some points on the board. We had some defensive breakdowns throughout the game. Give Alliance credit, they hit 10 3s. Whether we had a breakdown defensively or not, they shot them, and they made them. What are you going to do? It’s sports. Next time, those same shots might not fall for them.”

But, they fell when Alliance needed them most against the Falcons. Senior Nate Leskovac scored and Fitch led 19-18 at the end of the first quarter. The Falcons built a 41-35 halftime advantage thanks in part to the play of freshman point guard Dan Evans (15 points) and senior captain Todd Simons.

Evans nailed two of his four 3-pointers in the second, and Simons showed perfect shooting form, helping Fitch build the lead at the break. Simons went on to finish with five from downtown and a game-high 32 points.

Simons began the third with a bucket, and Allen Underwood (21 points) had a steal and a layup. Evan Sahli had a nice offensive rebound and a dish to Underwood. Evans’ fourth 3-pointer of the night gave Fitch a 51-41, lead with five minutes left in the third. The Falcons connected on nine shots of their own from behind the arc in the contest.

Unfortunately for the Falcons, the Aviators’ 3-pointers started falling as the lead quickly evaporated. Freshman Brendan Zurbrugg and point guard Gage Ford scored 21 points apiece for Alliance. Zurbrugg canned 5 from long range and Ford’s buzzer-beater put Alliance ahead, 61-59, heading to the fourth.

“It was two very close teams,” Alliance coach Larry Kukura said. “It was a good non-league game for us. Austintown is a good opponent. Brian does a good job coaching them. I’m proud of my kids not caving in when they were down, and battling back.”

After battling back to take the lead, Simons drilled a 3 from the corner and the Aviators were up, 66-63, with 4:30 left to play. During a timeout, coach Beany challenged his team to, ‘Box-out and put a body on a body.’

Alliance (5-3) did a good job of playing keep-away in the closing minutes as Ford did a little shake-and-bake dribble move and found the 6-foot-8 Stephen Gales (15 points) down low.

“Their big guys are big,” Beany said. ” They’re big, strong dudes. You gotta put a body into them and try to drive them out. We had that lead and they chipped away. Tonight, they made their shots. Sometimes, it’s just how it goes.”