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Poland’s key surges end Niles’ threat
DISTRICT BASKETBALL
By TOM WILLIAMS
williams@vindy.com
BOARDMAN
For most of Monday’s first half, the Niles High boys basketball team matched Poland shot for shot and point for point, even building up a 35-30 lead with about three minutes to go before halftime.
But then the Bulldogs’ high-powered offense ignited into a higher gear, finishing the second quarter with a 12-0 run that continued with a 6-0 spurt to open the third quarter.
Photo
Poland Seminary's Drew Wagner (22) and John Price (15) block Niles Dragon's Saul Vaughn (11) during the first period at Boardman High School, Monday March 8, 2010.
Soon after, Niles sparkplug Saul Vaughn was assessed his third personal foul plus a technical, enabling the Bulldogs to nurse a double-digit most of the rest of the way in the 84-73 Division II district semifinal victory at Boardman High.
Saturday at 6 p.m. in the district final, Poland (21-1) will play the winner of Wednesday’s game between Cardinal Mooney (16-5) and Struthers (19-2).
Asked if he had a preference, Poland senior David Baker, who scored a game-high 26 points, said, “They’d both be great games but I think Mooney, for the football team, to get them back. They beat our football and soccer teams, ended both of our seasons.”
Baker empathized with Vaughn’s tough finish. The 6-foot-3 senior had scored eight points and made six rebounds and two blocks before sitting out most of the third quarter. He took his final foul with 4:13 to go.
“He’s a great player,” said Baker, the Bulldogs’ 6-6 senior forward. “It gets real frustrating, I know, when you get a lot of fouls. We took advantage of it, getting the ball inside while he was out.”
Poland coach Ken Grisdale said Vaughn offered a “gritty performance. We have a nice little rivalry going between the two schools. We saw them three times [last] summer and each time the games got more and more physical, a little chippy at times but very competitive.”
Senior guard Ben Donlow finished with 20 points while classmates Niko Fatimus and Luke Wollet contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively.
For the Red Dragons (11-12), Ryan Frantz ended his varsity career with 21 points that included six 3-pointers. He also made six rebounds.
“Ryan Frantz is a heckuva player, he can flat-out shoot it up,” Grisdale said. “Saul Vaughn was one of the most improved players I’ve seen in a long time. He put 35 on us the first time.”
Cory Floyd contributed 10 points and 15 rebounds while Joe Moss scored 12 points and Nick Young 11.
“A lot of guys stepped up tonight,” Niles coach Rick Kover said. “Nick Young and David Allen hit some big 3s.
“How do you play with this team? Rebound, you’ve got to limit their possessions, give them one shot,” Kover said. “We did a good job of limiting their possessions and maximizing ours ... except for that one stretch.
“From the end of the second and the start of the third, that was the stretch,” Kover said. “Make a shot here or three, or a rebound, and we stop those runs. We lost our composure from the last two minutes of the second quarter to the start of the third.”
Late in the third quarter, the Bulldogs had their largest lead, 68-46, when the Red Dragons roared back. They made five 3-pointers in the final quarter, eventually slicing the lead to eight points (79-71) with time running out.
“They shot the ball well, they played hard,” said Grisdale, who admitted that he gets a lot less sleep once district week arrives. “It’s a very stressful week, the sleep probably will cut down to two or three hours, much more nerves than anything. This is weird playing a district semi on a Monday — normally they are Wednesday or Thursday.”
Baker can’t wait for Saturday.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Baker said. “All the work that you’ve put in for the whole year was put in for this [week] and this playoff run. Mooney and Struthers are great teams.”