PREP BOYS BASKETBALL This one went to the 'Dogs

Poland defeated Lakeview in a battle of Bulldogs and renewal of a rivalry.
POLAND -- Tuesday night at Poland High's gymnasium, a non-conference battle of Bulldogs that renewed a rivalry saw the home team outscore visiting Lakeview, 31-18 in the second half to come away with a 53-41 victory.
It marked the first meeting of the schools since the Division II district final in 1996.
Lakeview (2-1) came out of the box quickly, taking a 5-0 lead with Alex Koltsov and Mike Pytlik leading the way, but then the contest settled into a dogfight.
Twice more in the first half Lakeview had five-point leads, at 11-6 and 23-18, with the latter advantage coming with 2:14 remaining in the first half.
One-point at the half
Baskets by Poland's Cameron Marchese and Jim Shurilla cut Lakeview's margin to 23-22 at the half.
Those four points to close out the first half became part of an 11-0 run that took off in the third quarter when Poland senior guard Chad Fender gave his team its first lead, 25-23, when he buried a long 3-pointer.
Baskets by Lou Coppola and Marchese extended the third quarter run to 7-0 and Poland's lead to 29-23 and then the defense settled in. Lakeview didn't score until the 2:45 mark of the third quarter and only had a pair of field goals in the period, making just 2-of-10 shots.
A basket by Trevor Mathews and another with 5:50 remaining in the final period by Koltsov, Lakeview had the Poland lead down to four points.
Poland led 33-28 at the end of the third quarter, but three consecutive free throws by Fender had Poland leading 36-29. Fender, who signed a letter of intent to Youngstown State, scored 14 of his game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter, when his team out-scored Lakeview 20 to 13.
"It was our first game and we came out tentative, even with good defense in the first half," said Fender. "In the second half we were more relaxed and our shots started to fall and I knew the tide would turn."
Good shooting
Fender was 9-for-9 on free throws and 5-of-10 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers. He also finished with four assists and three steals.
"It is good to have a take-charge, four-year starter like Chad Fender going for you," said Poland coach Ken Grisdale.
"It was a good game between two quality teams and if we both stay healthy we should have successful seasons. We had a physical first half and a good early run with some great team defense took us the rest of the way."
Grisdale was also pleased with the play of 6-foot-7 sophomore Lou Coppola.
"I thought Poland took us out of what we do best," said Lakeview's fourth year coach, Larry Herrholtz. "It was a defensive match and they really had the better of us, especially when they shut us down in the third quarter."
Lakeview (2-1) was led by Mathews, a 6-4 senior, with 11 points. He also had six rebounds, and Pytlik had five.
Lakeview had only 11 turnovers to 13 for Poland, but Poland held the upper hand on the boards. Coppola, Marchese and Luke Blangero each had six rebounds.