Poland rebounds to zip to title game

Lakeview started strong but Poland was too tough in the second half.

By GREG GULAS

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

BOARDMAN — The Poland High basketball team is a high-scoring, well-oiled machine whose players work just as hard defensively as they do when looking to put points on the board.

For the better part of a half, Lakeview matched Poland’s intensity and on six occasions held the ball with the lead.

It was the second half, however, that took its toll on the Lakeview as Poland put up 54 points, including 31 in the final period, in a 93-66 win Tuesday in a Division II district semifinal at Boardman High School.

Ben Umbel scored a game-high 26 points, adding nine steals, eight rebounds and eight assists, to power Poland to its 22nd consecutive win and a date in the district title game Saturday night.

Poland will meet the winner of tonight’s semifinal between West Branch and Streetsboro.

“We played what was perhaps our worst first half of the season tonight, but give Lakeview a lot of the credit because they just kept coming at us,” Umbel said. “Other teams have zoned us this season and we have done well against them. Tonight, we just didn’t shoot the ball well and their defense was a big part of the reason.

“Coach [Ken] Grisdale told us at the half that we were too passive,” Umbel said. “We’re usually a team that is full of energy; a team that plays somewhat chaotic on the court. We just looked like we didn’t have a game plan.”

Lakeview’s Jon Kittle played a big part in his team’s competitiveness in the first half.

Kittle scored eight points in the first quarter as Lakeview trailed only 18-15.

Baskets by Mike Graham, Greg McCumber and Joel Davis to start the second quarter gave Lakeview a 21-18 lead, but a basket by David Baker and a three-point play by Umbel helped Poland regain the lead, 23-21 with 5:31 remaining in the half.

Lakeview went on an 11-7 run to take a 32-30 lead with 1:04 remaining in the half, but two 3s by Umbel, the last coming from just inside the halfcourt line as time was about to expire, gave Poland a 39-35 advantage at the break.

“Ben stepped up when we really needed him to,” Grisdale said. “Give Lakeview credit because they took away our penetration in the first half and that was really the key.

“We have some height, but aren’t necessarily a big team,” Grisdale said. “We have length and that is what helps us inside and defensively.”

A bucket by Davis at 6:51 of the third quarter cut the Poland lead to two at 39-37, but that was as close as Lakeview got. Poland went on a 10-2 run and another Umbel 3 just before the third-quarter horn made it 62-50.

“We stayed in the game in the first half because we executed our game plan,” Lakeview coach George Lanterman said. “To the average fan, they think that Poland runs the same thing each and every time down the court. That is just not the case.

“You cannot do this but if you take away Ben’s two 3-point buckets at the end of the second and third periods, it’s only a six-point game and we are in striking distance,” Lanterman said. “We had shots and good looks, but they just weren’t falling for us in the second half.”

Niko Fatimus made sure Lakeview got no closer in the fourth period as he hit four of his game-high six baskets from beyond the arc.

Fatimus finished with 18 point while Ben Donlow added 15 points and 17 rebounds.

Davis scored 16 points for Lakeview (14-9).