Friday, March 20, 2015
Another Poland season ends at the hands of SVSM
CANTON
The Poland High School boys basketball team ran into a high-speed train Thursday night at the Canton Civic Center and they had no way of stopping it.
No matter the lineup, the defense or the toughness the Bulldogs showed, there was nothing slowing down undefeated and top-ranked St. Vincent-St. Mary in the Division II regional semifinal.
Poland gave the Irish a battle last season in the regional final. This year, they found themselves treading water until it was too deep against a more-talented SVSM team.
“They’re athletic, they’re quick and they’re big,” Bulldogs junior Jared Burkert said following a 67-44 loss to the Irish. “They’re just good players.”
Not only do the Irish have good players, but they were unselfish, too. Six different players had assists on Thursday, led by senior guard Josh Williams with four. They spread around 14 assists on 22 made baskets.
“That is an extremely unselfish basketball team,” Bulldogs coach Ken Grisdale said. “I don’t think they care who gets the credit, which I think last year they had a little bit of that.
“They’re tough.”
Poland (23-3) controlled the tempo to start the game and limited SVSM’s possessions. Both teams knew that was the Bulldogs’ only shot at hanging with the high-flying Irish.
“I think we had the game in the beginning where we wanted it to be,” Grisdale said. “We had the pace and then I think we missed two layups and that kind of took a little bit of the wind out of our sails at that moment.
“That’s when they went on one of those spurts.”
Did they ever. The Irish (26-0) had eight points in the first quarter and led by two. By the time most of the Poland players could catch their breath in the second, they were staring up at a 16-point deficit.
It was an avalanche of scoring brought on by missed Poland shots and turnovers converted into fast-break points.
The backbreaker was the Irish’s transition offense. They converted 4-of-5 three-point field goals in that second quarter, three of them by Williams. The 6-foot-2 guard, who joined SVSM last season after starting his career at Barberton High School, finished with a game-high 25 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor.
“When teams try to take something away from him, he’s smart enough to understand, OK, now I become a passer,” Irish coach Dru Joyce said. “He’s a complete player and it’s been great having him in the program these last two years.”
The Bulldogs trailed 30-14 at the break and the Irish only extended their led in the second half. Another season-ending defeat to SVSM meant another bitter pill to swallow for Poland.
“I thought they fought to the end tonight and I couldn’t be prouder of them,” Grisdale said.
The Bulldogs struggled all night shooting the ball, going 7-for-22 from behind the arc. Senior Dan Black had 14 points and seven rebounds. Kyle Dixon finished with 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists.