Poland rallies in wild finish

The Bulldogs defeated Metro Conference rival Niles, 57-52.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- Jamie Dunn looked up at the ceiling and pointed.
The Poland High senior had just launched a 60-foot miracle shot to beat the third quarter buzzer and give the Bulldogs a 41-33 lead over Niles McKinley.
To him, it was a sign.
"That's a little bit of justice," Dunn said.
It was as if the basketball gods had finally smiled on Poland.
The Bulldogs lost last year's district title to Chaney on a buzzer-beating 30-footer.
They lost their first game of the season to Beaver Falls on a buzzer-beater.
Their second loss came against Boardman after the Spartans hit a 25-footer to force overtime.
"We've had so many of those go against us," Poland coach Ken Grisdale said.
That is, until Saturday night.
Strange ending: The Bulldogs rallied from a 52-51 deficit with 57 seconds remaining and survived a strange final minute to defeat the Red Dragons 57-52 in the Division II district final at Boardman High School.
Poland will play Canton South in the Division II regional semifinal Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the Canton Civic Center.
"It feels awesome," Dunn, who had 14 points and nine rebounds, said. "Niles wanted us and they got us."
But in a game seemingly dominated by seniors, it was an upstart freshman that became the hero.
Freshman Chad Fender scored a team-high 18 points for the Bulldogs (21-2) and went from the hero to the goat to the hero again in a matter of seconds.
After junior Eric Fender -- Chad's brother -- hit two free throws to five Poland a 53-52 lead, Niles senior Jason Shelton missed a shot. The Red Dragons fouled Neil Harris, who hit one of two free throws to make it 54-52 with 31 seconds left.
Shelton was then called for a double-dribble, but Poland gave the ball back when Chad Fender was called for a five-second violation.
Key points: Poland senior David McGarry then stole Dan Jones' inbound pass, passed the ball to Chad Fender, who hit two free throws with 15.3 seconds remaining to seal the game.
"I felt so bad after the turnover," said Chad Fender said. "[Winning] is a great feeling. There's no feeling better than this."
The final minute wasn't textbook, but Grisdale will take it.
"It was weird," Grisdale said. "I'm glad we were on the right end of it. I couldn't imagine losing in that way. Niles deserved better."
David McGarry added 10 points for Poland.
Niles senior Dave Soda -- who said he wanted to play Poland after the Red Dragons' district semifinal win over Rayen -- was outstanding, scoring a game-high 24 points and adding six rebounds and three blocks.
Pride in Niles: Senior Tyler Spencer added 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Red Dragons (17-6), who lost to Poland twice during the regular season.
"It was a great basketball game," Niles coach Ron Price said. "We're disappointed in the outcome, but these five seniors started something three years ago and our goal was to bring pride to Niles.
"We accomplished that."
The two teams played even for much of the first half before Dunn hit a 3-pointer with five seconds left to give Poland a 23-20 halftime lead.
Chad Fender hit three straight 3-pointers at one point in the third quarter as the Bulldogs outscored the Red Dragons 18-3 in the quarter.
Soda hit two straight 3s to start the fourth quarter and cut the deficit to 41-39. Poland rebuilt its lead to 49-42, but Niles answered with a 10-2 run to take its first lead since the second quarter, 52-51.
"We expected to have a chance to win the game," Price said. "We're disappointed in the outcome, but we have a lot to be proud of."
scalzo@vindy.com