Poland surges to repel Canfield in 56-48 win

By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CANFIELD -- Poland High boys basketball Ken Grisdale knew the perfect excuse was just sitting there, waiting for him to grab it.
Poland's league winning streak could be over. One of his best players is suspended. The Bulldogs don't have quite as many weapons as the past two years. If they couldn't beat Alliance at home, how in the world were they going to beat Canfield on the road?
"People were saying, 'Why don't you guys just get ready for the tournament? You're not gonna beat Canfield,' " Grisdale said. "But you don't tell these kids they can't do something."
So Grisdale challenged his players, and they responded.
Senior forward Dan McGarry, who is serving a three-game suspension after being arrested for DUI, practiced with the scout team, mimicking Canfield's powerful senior forward Chad Baker. Two role players, Nick Henry and Cameron Marchese, stepped up their game on Tuesday, adding key buckets and tough defense.
As for junior guard Chad Fender -- well, he played like he always did.
Superb.
Made key shots
"Grisdale has said since my freshman year that he wants the ball in my hands," said Fender, who has never lost to Canfield. "We couldn't put them away, but we made shots when we needed to make shots."
Fender scored 21 points and the Bulldogs' defense took over late in the fourth quarter as Poland pulled out a 56-48 victory in front of a spill-over crowd at Canfield High School.
The win all but clinched Poland's third straight Metro Athletic Conference title.
"I'm elated," Grisdale said. "I'm so proud of my guys. They had a week of adversity and they lost a tough game to Alliance, but they didn't hang their heads.
"I didn't know how our focus was gonna be, but they played amazing," Grisdale said.
Poland saw its 33-game MAC win streak snapped last Friday by the Aviators. When asked when the Bulldogs last lost to Canfield, Grisdale just shook his head.
"I don't know," Grisdale said. "The last time I talked about a streak, we lost the next game."
For the record, Poland has won nine straight against the Cardinals.
Got to within one
Canfield nearly snapped that streak Tuesday -- the Cardinals closed to within one, 43-42, with five minutes left -- but Poland used a 13-4 run to put the game away.
"What makes [Poland] so strong is that when you make mistakes, they make you pay," Canfield coach John Cullen said. "We'd get right up there, but we couldn't push the door in. They have that extra discipline in crunch time, and we're still learning that."
Canfield shot just 3 for 11 from the field over the final five minutes and committed three turnovers. Poland, meanwhile, made 7 of 9 free throws in the final 1:13 to put the game away.
Henry scored 15 points and Jim Shurilla added eight points and five rebounds for the Bulldogs (12-3, 9-1), who still have league games against Howland and Salem.
Chad Baker -- who scored 34 points in their first meeting -- had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Cardinals (13-4, 8-2).
Jordan Ferns added 13 points and five rebounds. Andrew Havas had 10 points and Frank Turocy nine.
Canfield lost to Poland in last year's district semifinal, and Cullen could get another chance at the Bulldogs in the weeks ahead.
"I hope we do," Cullen said. "I hope we stick around long enough to see any good team in the tournament. We have a three-game season left and we want to be as prepared as we can possibly be.
"We think we're the kind of team that can make a run in the district," Cullen said.
scalzo@vindy.com