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Poland Middle School boys win AAC title
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Neighbors | Submitted.The PMS seventh-grade basketball team withstood a late rally by Austintown Blue to win the AAC title. The team includes, from left, (row 1) cheerleaders Bailey Boccia, Alyssa Lasky, Lexi Lidle, Annmarie Ginnis, Jenna Evan, Danielle Voitus; (row 2) Ryan Houston, Danny Black, Anthony Sabula, Dom Lapari, Kyle Dixon; (row 3) Nick Romeo, Nick Gajdos, Austin Wilson, Geno Petrus, Nick Burke,ÊTate Durate, coach Kim Grisdale, coach Ally Graf; (row 4) Mark Passarello snd Nick Ashton.
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Neighbors | Submitted.The Poland Middle School seventh-grade boys basketball team celebrates after beating Austintown Blue 32-27 to win the All-American Conference championship.
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Neighbors | Submitted.Coach Ally Graf draws up a play during the AAC seventh-grade championship game against Austintown Blue. Top-seeded Poland won 32-27 and completed its three-game run through the tournament.
The Poland Middle School seventh-grade boys basketball team withstood a late rally by Austintown Blue to earn a 32-27 victory Feb. 24 to win the All-American Conference championship.
The top-seeded Bulldogs jumped out to a 16-6 first-quarter lead. Austintown Blue cut the deficit to 18-12 at halftime.
Austintown got to within 28-27 in the second half, but Poland finished the game with a 4-0 run to earn the AAC title. Mark Passarello led a balanced offensive attack with eight points, four rebounds and two assists. Austin Wilson had seven points and seven rebounds and Nick Gajdos scored five points and grabbed three steals. Kyle Dixon finished with three steals, two points and two assists.
“All 13 team members showed significant improvement this season,” said coach Kim Grisdale. “They worked so hard in practice every day that they really made each other better.”