Fender leads Poland

He scored 24 points in the Bulldogs' district championship win over Canfield.
BOARDMAN -- Familiar scene at Boardman High School on Saturday. Ladder under the basket. Poland fans cheering. Poland's Chad Fender, scissors in hand, cutting down the last piece, gripping the net in his hand, pumping his fist toward the crowd and letting the applause soak over him.
He's done it three times now. But this was a little different.
"This one was a little extra special," Fender said following Poland's 66-53 victory over Canfield in a Division II district final. "It doesn't take away from the earlier ones, but to do this with my senior class and my friends is just a great feeling."
Twenty minutes earlier, with his team trailing 28-24 in the opening minute of the third quarter, Fender made a decision.
"I wasn't going to lose this game," he said. "I knew I needed to step up."
13 points in five minutes
And so he started scoring. He scored at the line, he scored on drives and he even scored on a rainbow 3-pointer 3 feet from behind the arc. When the smoke cleared, he'd scored 13 points in five minutes, the Bulldogs had reeled off a 17-1 run and Poland led 41-29.
It wasn't checkmate, but it was close.
"I wish him well [at Youngstown State]," said Canfield coach John Cullen, "but I had to face him for one more game, I might have to get him in a headlock."
Fender finished with game-highs in points (24) and assists (8) and added eight rebounds for the Bulldogs (21-2), who advanced to the regional semifinals to play Wooster Triway at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Canton Civic Center.
"He's our best player," said Poland senior Cameron Marchese. "We know he'll find us and he create a lot of plays. And if I have to step up or someone else, we'll do it."
For the first half, the Bulldogs had to rely on someone else. The Cardinals trapped Fender with two defenders, forcing him to give up the ball. Marchese shouldered some of the load, hitting three 3s in the first half, but Canfield junior Sean Baker did him one better.
Baker hit four 3s -- including one he banked in from a foot behind the line in the closing seconds -- to give the Cardinals a 25-24 halftime lead.
"We had a good first half -- that's exactly the way we drew it up," said Cullen. "But sometimes as the game goes on, with young guys, the game plan doesn't stay fresh in their minds."
Poland's standouts
Marchese finished with 14 points and four rebounds, Jim Shurilla had 12 points and five rebounds and Luke Blangero had eight points and a game-high nine rebounds for Poland, which has won three district titles in four years.
All of the titles are special, but the Canfield-Poland rivalry added a little extra on Saturday. They're crosstown rivals, they split their regular season meetings and, as an added bonus, Grisdale is a Canfield grad.
Have they disowned him?
"Yeah, they have," Grisdale said, smiling. "But that's OK. Most of my family still lives there."
Baker finished with 13 points and senior Jordan Ferns -- the only senior on the team -- added nine points and five rebounds for the Cardinals (16-7).
"He gave up a lot of himself for this team," Cullen said of Ferns. "We're going to miss him."
But with everyone else back, the Cardinals seem to have a bright future.
"I told them one of two things can happen," said Cullen. "We can get the resolve to come out and do what we need to do to get better, or we can let our arm get sore from patting ourselves on the back.
"It all comes down to their decision."