Poland senior kicks into gear to earn MVP in Alliance

December 23, 2018 at 12:10a.m.

ByDAN HINER

Alliance

Poland forward Dan Kramer took a pass from teammate Braeden O’Shaughnessy and dunked the ball with two hands. It was only two points, but the play was another step in the right direction for Kramer.

He finished with 27 points and nine rebounds to lead the Bulldogs to a 71-63 win over West Branch on Saturday in the Alliance Christmas Classic at Mount Union.

Kramer, who was named the MVP following Saturday’s game, suffered an Achilles injury in November 2017, and Kramer still isn’t 100 percent. But he’s producing on the court.

“I felt like I never hit 100 percent yet, but I feel like I’m getting up there for my senior year,” Kramer said. “I’m gonna try to keep going, I mean my ankle’s doing a lot better this year. I’m gonna try to go as hard as I can.”

The Warriors (5-2) started slow, but eventually got going in the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs (5-1) led 56-38 after the third, but West Branch outscored Poland 25-15 to make the game competitive.

The combination of forwards Nick Everett and Brandon Zuchowski provided second-chance points and allowed the Warriors to get points in the paint.

Reese Leone led the Warriors with 25 points. Everett finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds while Zuchowski had 11 points and four rebounds.

“Zuchowski and Everett, in the second half, started heating up a little bit,” West Branch coach Randy Montgomery said. “Poland’s a good team. They came right out, they were hot and got some fastbreaks on us because we were maybe not quit ready for that. I was pleased with the way our guys responded, but we got to do that from the opening tip.”

Adam Kassem gave the Poland offense a spark in the first quarter. He scored 10 of his 13 points in the opening period. O’Shaughnessy and Kramer took the game over from there.

O’Shaughnessy finished with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists. He scored six points and recorded a block in the final 4:30 to help clinch the win.

“To have to defend [O’Shaughnessy and Kramer] ... I want to be on their team because that means I’m gonna get a ton of open shots,” Poland coach Ken Grisdale said.

“We haven’t had Braeden and Dan clicking together on the same night. The other night, Braeden had a big game and Danny had two [points]. It’s coming. They’re figuring each other out. They’re figuring the other guys out with them on the court and as we progress, I think we’ll be pretty dangerous.

Timeout Trouble

The Warriors were forced to foul to extend the game. West Branch played most of the game with two timeouts.

The Warriors used three in the opening six minutes. Montgomery called two timeouts, but the players called another after gaining control of a loose ball.

“I saw some things happening against them that we had to correct, that’s why I called the two timeouts,” Montgomery said. “That third one was a costly one, but we battled, we fought. Kid hits a 3 there with 38 seconds and it’s a three-point game.”