Poland runs past Howland, 84-59, to remain unbeaten

The Bulldogs put together five scoring runs to register their 16th triumph.

By DOUG CHAPIN

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

HOWLAND — Run, run, run, run, run.

Those who have seen the undefeated Poland boys basketball team this season know that’s what the Bulldogs like to do with their pressure defense and up-tempo game.

But it’s not just the Bulldogs forcing their opponents to get into a running game with them, or Coach Ken Grisdale running in another group of substitutes to keep everyone fresh.

In Friday night’s 84-59 Metro Athletic Conference victory over Howland, the Bulldogs put together five runs of six or more consecutive points.

“They [Howland] came to play tonight,” Poland coach Ken Grisdale said. “That was a good high school basketball game. They had fire in their eyes, they were pumped.

“I told the kids that these last few games everyone wants another shot at us. I thought their kids came well-prepared tonight,” Grisdale said. “I think they wore down as time went on and they made some mistakes, but that was a good high school basketball game.”

Howland led 11-9 in the first quarter before a 7-0 Poland run in less than two minutes made it 16-11. The Tigers battled to within 22-19 midway through period two and trailed 29-24 at the 3:10 mark of the quarter. A 9-0 run this time made it 38-24 at the half.

After the Tigers scored the first bucket of the second half, Poland put together a 6-0 spurt, then had an 8-0 run a couple of minutes later to increase the lead to 54-30. A 9-0 run pushed the score from 54-32 to 63-32 late in the third quarter.

“We look for the quick returns, where they get a basket, whether a two or three, and we come right back and get another one real quick,” Grisdale said. “That’s demoralizing. That’s what we really want to get and sometimes we’re willing to give up a two to go get that.”

Poland (16-0, 11-0 MAC) featured its usual balanced scoring. Seniors Ben Umbel, Anthony DeFelice and Dave White scored 13, 12 and 12 points, respectively. Umbel added six rebounds, seven assists and four steals, while DeFelice had five rebounds and six assists. Sophomores Niko Fatimus (14) and Luke Wollet (12) also reached double figures in scoring. Fellow sophomores Ben Donlow and David Baker grabbed eight rebounds each.

Howland coach Don Andres was happy with the Tigers’ effort.

“I thought they [Poland] got a little nervous,” he said. “They’re a fine team and they’re well-coached, but I just think we had them huffing and puffing a little. I was really proud of my kids, we didn’t back off. I thought it was a lot closer game than the final score.

“I thought we played as hard as we could, but we didn’t play as well as we could. We missed some easy shots early. We were down 14 at the half, we should have been down six.”

The Tigers’ Nathan Cope led all scorers with 19 points, Kyle Spence had 14 and Tyler Scott 12. Scott grabbed 15 rebounds and Jared Kirin had 10.

Howland (11-6, 6-5 MAC), playing without Cope, lost a 91-41 decision to Poland earlier in the season

Grisdale said the Bulldogs have seen adjustments from league opponents the second time around.

“We anticipated changes,” he said. “I mean, what are you going to do, come back and do the same thing you did the first time?

“I think everyone has had a good plan, and I think our kids have done a good job adjusting to what they’re showing. We eventually believe we are going to wear you down and get some steals and go on our runs.”