Poland boys inch closer to crown

February 13, 2017 at 10:43p.m.

POLAND

Before the basketball season began, Poland coach Ken Grisdale’s team needed to replace seven graduated seniors. It wasn’t going well.

The Bulldogs’ chances of earning a number-one seed for the Division II tournament?

“Very slim,” Grisdale said of his mindset in November. Grisdale even told his players that “the way we look right now, we’ll be lucky to win three or four games.”

Those Bulldogs have vanished.

“They took that [message] to heart,” Grisdale said of his players after Monday’s run-and-gun 82-62 victory over Jefferson. “They’ve tried to prove me wrong and they really have.”

Sunday, the Bulldogs (14-4, 8-2 All-American Conference White Tier) were awarded the top seed for the Boardman district. Monday, they showed why.

Despite Sam Hitchcock’s outstanding game (43 points, 10 rebounds and a block), the Bulldogs cruised in the second half and are one league win away from clinching a share of the title.