HOWLAND - Howland first-year coach Dan Campana is surrounded by quite a bit of athletic talent and players with a decent basketball IQ.
That combination translated into some up-tempo offense in a Dec. 4 74-59 season-opening victory.
There were quite a number of 3-point attempts between both teams - reminiscent of an open gym or the kind of play displayed in the Northeastern Athletic Conference. Campana, who at coached Mathews last year, is familiar with that seemingly helter-skelter play.
Howland was 5-of-19 from 3-point range, while Fitch shot 9-of-31.
"We need to understand if it's not falling, we need to get to the basket a little bit and get some touches inside and get some more balance offensively," Fitch coach Jason Baker said. "But, I have a lot of confidence in our shooters."
However, it's a different setup from the NAC and Campana wants his team to be mindful of their various offensive sets.
"We look for up-tempo. We look for scoring in transition," Campana said. "We look for good shots and if it's in transition, it's in transition.
"We knew they would shoot a lot of 3s. We had some open looks, so we took advantage of it."
Interestingly enough, the mild-mannered Campana saw his team pull away from Fitch during an 11-2 run early in the third quarter.
"Overall, that's what we like to do. We like to attack offensively," Campana said.
Howland (1-0) even kept the Falcons (0-1) off the boards, for the most part - outrebounding them, 39 to 29.
"We did a good job rebounding tonight, which we also want to do," Campana said. "There were a few wrinkles in the first game we need to fix for the next game. Overall, I was happy with the first game I saw."
T.J. Lanier, a 6-foot-4 junior who has an uncanny knack for spiting defenses, scored a game-high 26 points to pace the Tigers. Campana said he's one of many players to run the floor for Howland.
Josh Davis added 17 points, while Stephawn Brown added 10.
"He's one of the people we look to go through," Campana said. "He does a nice job in transition. We definitely look to attack the hoop.
"We have several people who can do that and we like to get to foul line - attack and get to the foul line."
Howland was 15-of-26 from the line and 11-of-18 in the fourth quarter.