43
Poland surge continues with victory over Lakeview
Photo
Poland’s Eddie Moore, left, fights for the ball with Lakeview’s Louie Novakovich during first-half action Tuesday at Poland.
By Greg Gulas
POLAND
Starting the season very un-Bulldog-like at 1-3, Poland High boys basketball coach Ken Grisdale readily admitted back then that his team was a work in progress.
Grisdale also noted that his squad had the potential to be a good team down the road if things would come together.
Fast forward eight games and while Grisdale still thinks his squad is going through a metamorphosis, some question marks are slowly being answered.
Jerry Lawman scored 22 points while Colin Reardon added 16 markers as Poland defeated Lakeview, 61-50 at the Poland Gymnasium.
“We looked at tonight’s game as a tournament game, knowing full well that it was nice to be able to go up against a team with quality wins like Lakeview,” Grisdale said.
“We’re physical and they’re physical so this was a nice battle for both teams,” Grisdale said.
Except for a Louie Novakovich basket that gave Lakeview a 6-5 lead, Poland led from opening tip to the final buzzer.
Lawman got Poland (7-4) going with an early 3-pointer. Lawman hit two of his four buckets from beyond the arc in the initial quarter to stake Poland to a 13-9 advantage.
“Jerry did a great job for us and knows only one speed; fast forward,” Grisdale said. “Sometimes you have to remind him to pull it back a little.
“As for Colin, he got some big boards when we really needed them and when you have a Division I [college] athlete on your team, you tend to ride him,’ Grisdale said. “He’s been a big key to our recent success.”
Lakeview’s (9-4) Zach McDivitt registered eight of his 17 points in the second period, but Poland outscored Lakeview 13-12 in the session to forge a 26-21 lead.
“We came and fought really hard so in no way am I disappointed at our overall effort tonight,” Lakeview coach George Lanterman said. “Give Poland credit, especially Jerry Lawman because he hit some really big shots for them tonight.
“It’s always tough to win at Poland,” Lanterman said. “Not many teams over the past five seasons can make that claim.”
Poland won for the second straight time and the sixth time in their last seven outings while Lakeview had its four-game win streak snapped, falling to 3-3 in six road contests.
“We’re just taking it one game at a time and trying to improve each and every time out,” Lawman said. “After losing to Canfield two games ago, it’s just a feeling that we don’t want to have again, especially down the stretch.”
Lawman, who had a game-high four triples, said his three-point shot is finally coming together.
“I’ve been working on my shot from beyond the arc and while it hasn’t been what I would like for it to be thus far, it is getting better and I can definitely feel an improvement,” Lawman said.
A 6-2 run to start the second half, fueled by Eddie Moore’s three points gave Poland a 32-23 lead.
When Reardon finished the session by converting three free throws with no time on the clock, the Bulldogs then opened their largest lead of the game, 44-33.
Eight points by Reardon and seven by Lawman in final period sealed the win.
“We just didn’t make enough shots tonight and need to be more aggressive offensively in order to get to the foul line,” Lanterman said. “We’ll learn from this and get back to work tomorrow because we still have some things that we need to work on before our next time out.”
Poland was 17 of 38 from the field while Lakeview canned 21 of 51 field goal attempts.