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Big 2nd quarter lifts Poland over Canfield
POLAND
Between football and basketball games, the Poland High senior class has won the “Battle of 224” trophy six times.
After the Bulldogs’ 63-46 win over rival Canfield on Friday, the senior spirit leaders handed the trophy off to Colin Reardon where he hoisted it over his head for all of the Poland High School gymnasium to see — for a seventh time.
“It makes it that much better,” Reardon said. “To be able to keep that trophy here for the seniors is phenomenal and a sweet way to go out [against Canfield].”
A 22-point second quarter allowed it to happen for Poland. So did holding the Cardinals to a mere two points in the second.
Marco DeLorenzo hit a 3-pointer to end the first quarter, making it 18-15 and the last time the Cardinals would have a lead. Jacob Wolfe sunk a 3-pointer for the Bulldogs’ first lead at the six minute mark when it was 20-18.
After that, a 17-2 run ensued into halftime.
“We wanted this one bad,” Wolfe said. “We started moving the ball really well and we were hitting shots in the second quarter.”
Jerry Lawman had five of his 11 points in the second quarter, Eddie Moore had four of his six and Reardon had six of his 18. As a team, the Bulldogs shot 63 percent in the second.
“Everybody did their part exactly how we wanted them to,” Reardon said. “It made a difference when we were all on the same page with everything.”
Especially on the defensive side.
Poland (11-5, 7-2 All-American Conference American Division) created four steals in the second, as the Cardinals committed a total of nine turnovers.
“We switched from a zone to a man-to-man,” Poland coach Ken Grisdale said. “We made sure that nobody had an open shot. We wanted hands in the face to contest everything.”
Ultimately, it was Canfield’s downfall.
“They did apply some pressure,” Cardinals’ coach Todd Muckelroy said. “Whether it was physical or psychological, they brought it. They were switching defenses on us and kept us on our heels the whole game.
“Turnover wise, sometimes they happen and it’s a result of pressure, you can kind of accept that. We had some unforced ones where we might have been anticipating pressure coming on and we just threw it out of bounds. Those are tougher to take.”
Early after halftime, Poland led by as many as 19. Still, the cushion was never quite comfortable.
When these two teams played on Jan. 13, the Bulldogs had a pair of blown double-digit leads and eventually lost by two points.
That wasn’t about to happen this time around.
“We still played tough throughout,” Reardon said. “We knew they had the capability of coming back so we just had to make sure that we were playing as sound as possible to hold on for the win.”
Poland led by as many as 21 in the fourth quarter when Lawman found Reardon posted up down low with a bounce-pass. The Kent State football recruit took it up for an easy lay-in.
“It was just too deep of a whole to dig ourselves out of,” Muckelroy said. “They’re playing like they don’t want to lose a second time and they’re playing for that trophy on their home floor, so that was an extra advantage for them.”
Wolfe ended with 16 points and eight rebounds and Reardon sees a bright future for the sophomore.
“He’s further along than I was at that point,” Reardon said. “He’s going to be a great player. For him to get this kind of experience, is feeding into his potential. I guarantee he’ll be a 1,000 point scorer.”
Alex Hubbell came off the bench to score six points for the Bulldogs and Lawman added three assists and three steals.
For Canfield (7-11, 3-6 AAC), Kyle Brown had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Will Yobi added 11 points.