Poland Bulldogs blanked in second quarter by Falcons
By Charles grove
POLAND
Last time around, it took a last-second shot, and while that didn’t happen this go-around between the Fitch and Poland boys basketball teams, cuticles were at a premium for fans during the fourth quarter of Fitch’s 53-41 victory Tuesday night.
“These seniors have battled each other, both Poland and our guys, since they were about 5 years old in youth baseball and basketball,” Fitch head coach Brian Beany said. “I knew this game was going down to the wire because it always does, and it did.”
Derek Gunter led the Falcons (8-6, 5-3 All-American Conference Red) with 15 points while Anthony Pangio (14) and Dominic Difrancesco (10) scored in double figures as well.
Matt Baker was the top scorer for Poland (13-2, 8-2) with 14 while Mike Gajdos chipped in 10.
Open up a thesaurus to the word “impressive” and you’ll find everything to describe Fitch’s first half defensive performance against the Bulldogs. The Falcons didn’t allow a single field goal inside the 3-point arc in the first half and didn’t allow any points in the second quarter, leading 25-9 at the break.
“That first half was one of the better halves defensively we’ve had all year,” Beany said. “We did a nice job communicating and switching out on their shooters as well as blocking out. They did everything that we asked of them in that first half.”
Poland head coach Ken Grisdale said the deficit was challenging.
“We didn’t think we’d dig the hole that we dug,” Grisdale said. “We thought it would come down and be a possession game in the fourth quarter.
“Luckily, we’ve had a lot of success in those situations against them. We always expect a dogfight from [Fitch].”
Adding spice to the second-quarter shutout was Gunter who hit three 3-pointers, one of which he was fouled on, making it a four-point play.
“Derek had a 34-point game against Boardman like a week or so ago,” Beany said. “He has that ability to score and he was feeling it early tonight.
“Derek has been a huge asset from a scoring capability.”
A quiet home crowd for Poland in the first half got louder as the second half unfolded as the Bulldogs finally were able to work the ball inside and put some pressure on the Falcons as the lead began to dwindle.
Down 31-17 late in the third quarter, Poland went on a 9-0 run to close out the quarter which included a 3-pointer from Jake Buccieri and back-to-back layups by Gajdos.
Gajdos knocked down two free throws at the end of the quarter. What looked like an insurmountable lead was down to 31-26.
Fitch stretched their lead to 39-33 with about five minutes to play but a turnaround jumper and 3-pointer from Baker cut that lead to 39-38 in the course of a minute. But in the end Fitch had an answer for every run the Bulldogs had in them. Free throws from Pangio and Brian Beany closed the game out.
“We’ve lost a lot of close games this year,” Coach Beany said. “Some crazy and heartbreaking games. So I’m really happy for these guys.”