HOWLAND, Ohio (WKBN) – Howland welcomes back its leading scorer (Alex Henry) and leading rebounder (John Perry) to a team that finished with an even 12-12 mark a year ago.

“Our expectations are to compete every night against a very tough schedule,” said coach Dan Bubon. “We want to be in the mix in the All-American Conference and want our schedule to prepare us to compete in the Division 2 tournament [in February]. Hopefully, we’ll be in position to win the first district title in school history.

“We return [Alex] Henry, who’s a three-year starter and should be one of the better all-around players in the area. John [Perry] will probably consistently be a threat to record a double-double in every game,” Bubon said. “TJ Douglas (2.3 ppg) and Anthony Chieffo were both in the varsity rotation in the last half of last season and should both begin the year in the starting line-up. Chris Fenton returns as a senior after contributing in his sophomore year but decided not to play in his junior year. Everyone else in our rotation will be new to varsity basketball this year.”

Henry averaged 9.7 points and dished out 3.9 assists as the team’s point guard. Perry scored 7.9 points and hauled down 7.0 rebounds per game last year.

The Tigers open the season in Neshannock at the Lancers Tip-Off Tournament against Shenango on Dec. 1.

“Our strength should be our ability to defend at a high level,” Bubon said. “If we defend like we have the last few years, we’ll be in many close games again. Hopefully, we win more of those tight games than we lose with a three-year starter at point guard.”

Howland Tigers
Fast Facts
Head Coach: Dan Bubon
2022-23 Record: 12-12 (2-6), 4th place in All-American Conference
2022-23 Post-Season Finish: Lost to Mentor in Sectional Final

2022-23 Team Stats
Scoring Offense: 51.4
Scoring Defense: 47.5

2022-23 Individual Leaders
Scoring: Alex Henry – 9.7
Rebounding: John Perry – 7.0
Assists: Alex Henry – 3.9
Free Throw Percentage: Brandon Null – 85.7%
Three-Point Percentage: Connor Durig – 39.2%

2023-24 Schedule
Dec. 1 – vs. Shenango (at Neshannock)
Dec. 2 – vs TBA (at Neshannock)
Dec. 5 – at Chaney
Dec. 8 – at LaBrae
Dec. 12 – Mooney
Dec. 15 – Lakeview
Dec. 18 – Poland
Dec. 19 – at East
Dec. 22 – at Newton Falls
Dec. 28 – at Hudson
Dec. 30 – at Struthers
Jan. 5 – Harding
Jan. 9 – Canfield
Jan. 12 – at Fitch
Jan. 16 – at Boardman
Jan. 23 – at Harding
Jan. 26 – at Canfield
Jan. 30 – Fitch
Feb. 2 – Boardman
Feb. 6 – at Ursuline
Feb. 9 – South Range
Feb. 16 – at Niles