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Poland holds off Lakeview
By ERIC FORTUNE
CORTLAND
Poland High School boys basketball coach Ken Grisdale hopes he doesn’t have to see Lakeview’s Chris Muir come tournament time.
The senior seemed to have the big shot to stop the bleeding for Lakeview in Friday’s 57-49 loss to Poland.
His heroics throughout the game almost brought Lakeview back from a double-digit deficit.
But it was a Muir foul that Poland took advantage of with 51 seconds remaining to provide separation in the All-American Conference White Tier matchup.
“I hope not,” Grisdale said of facing Muir again.” He’s unbelievable. The shots that he takes — but he makes them.
“It’s amazing,” Grisalde said. “His sophomore year, he gave us a lot of trouble. He got hurt his junior year.
“We had kids all over him the first game and he’s draining them,” Grisdale said.
“He did some of that tonight, but thankfully he missed them at the end and we were able to get out of here.”
Muir finished with a game-high 27 points with nine coming in the final quarter to bring Lakeview (7-10, 2-7) back from an 11-point deficit.
“When we need a big play, he usually makes it for us,” Lakeview coach Ryan Fitch said. “He stepped up and made a couple of huge shots that kept us right there.
“It kept the pressure on Poland a bit for them to make plays each time down the court,” Fitch said. “I give our kids credit tonight. They didn’t quit.”
His final point came on a one-and-one to get Lakeview within three at 49-46 with 2:45 remaining. Then a foul stopped the Lakeview momentum.
Muir was called for a foul that referees thought was not a basketball play. It allowed Poland’s Konnor Morse to go to the charity stripe. Morse made one of two pushing the advantage out to a two-possession game.
“I was fine with the explanation,” Fitch said.
On the ensuing Poland possession, Morse’s layup pushed the lead out to 54-48 as Poland (10-4, 4-2) put the game away at the line in the final 30 seconds.
Poland was led by Braeden O’Shaughnessy’s 16-point, 12-rebound double double.
Dan Kramer added 15 points as Poland never trailed and seemed poised to break the game wide open, Lakeview had the big shot to get them back within striking distance.
Poland had nine-point advantages multiple times in the first half.
“They’re young kids,” Grisdale said. “They’re sophomores. They’re learning. This is baptism under fire.
“They’re the best two players on my team — both ends of the court. I’ve got some other kids that maybe handle the ball better or could maybe be better defender. Those kids are really the core of what we’re building around this year and for the future.”
Despite some confusion in the first and his team shooting just 11-of-31 from of the field in the first half, Grisdale expected these kinds of growing pains for a team replacing their top seven players from last year.
“It wasn’t frustrating,” Grisdale said.
“This is a learning process for these guys. They’re growing up and that’s all you can ask for.”