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Poland’s pace, shooting keys in win over Harding
By Steve Wilaj
POLAND
Before Friday night’s marquee matchup with Warren Harding, Poland boys basketball coach Ken Grisdale delivered a simple message to his team.
“The best thing we do right now is shoot,” Grisdale told them. “We’re not a great defensive team or great rebounding team. But the thing that we can do is shoot.”
They sure can. Just ask the Raiders.
Knocking off Harding, 69-54, at Poland, the Bulldogs scorched the Raiders by shooting 64 percent from the field and 9 of 17 from behind the arc. Matt Baker led the way with 19 points off the bench, while Nick Gajdos added 14 points and 10 assists. Kyle Dixon also scored 12 points and Dan Black notched 10.
For Poland, the win avenged a 65-50 loss at Harding on Jan. 2. The Bulldogs have won 10 straight games and are tied with the Raiders for the All-American Conference Red Tier lead.
“This is a statement win,” Gajdos said. “We needed this one. It was do or die. We got two more league games and we’re gonna try to battle it out and at least share the league with them.
“We executed on both ends of the floor tonight. We played good defense and then made shots. We started off slow, but we picked up and came through.”
Poland (15-2, 9-1) indeed started slow, as Harding (14-3, 9-1) took an 11-6 lead after the first quarter. Then the Bulldogs caught fire, shooting 7-of-8 in the second period paced by eight points from the lefty Baker and three points and three assists by Mike Gajdos.
“They changed our offense because they hit some shots,” Grisdale said of the two sophomores. “I knew if we could hit a couple shots, we could relax and do some things. We’re capable of shooting the ball really, really well and that was pretty.”
Baker stayed hot in the third quarter, knocking down two more 3-pointers to spark a 9-0 run that finally created separation from a 24-23 halftime lead. The Bulldogs then built their lead to 43-34 after three quarters before taking the final quarter, 26-20.
“My teammates found me and I was able to knock down some shots and spark the team,” said Baker, who finished 7 of 8 from the field, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range. “We just needed a little more and I was able to propel the team into the second half.”
Along with their hot shooting, Poland slowed the tempo of the game. Harding coach Andy Vlajkovich said that strategy was crucial.
“They challenged our discipline all night,” he said. “We were great for like 25 or 30 seconds. Then we would make a mistake like teenagers do and, boom, it’s a layup.”
Shondell Jackson paced Harding with 15 points, while Gabe Simpson added 13. Derek Culver, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds.
“I thought we got a little deflated and dejected,” Vlajkovich said. “We really hadn’t been in that kind of position this year. And the way they were playing — because the pace was so slow — every basket was deflating.
“If anything, this will humble us a bit. I hope it refocuses us at practice. But the bottom line is they kicked our butts tonight.”