Kramer, Bulldogs hold off Wildcats

February 23, 2019 at 12:06a.m.

By ERIC FORTUNE

STRUTHERS

Coming into their regular-season finale, the Poland Bulldogs had won 19 games by an average margin of 23.8 points.

That story line played out much of the same until a stagnant fourth quarter almost allowed the Struthers Wildcats to come back from 19 down.

But Poland withstood the onslaught to escape with a 55-46 victory.

“One of the strengths that they have that we were really worried about as the season started was their length,” Poland coach Ken Grisdale said. “When they put Carson Ryan up top in their zone, they make things very difficult. They did a good job of matching up in the middle and taking advantage of their length. We didn’t make great decisions. We hadn’t seen that defense in a live situation. They executed very well.”

Up until that point, the Bulldogs (20-2) were aggressive on defense in the second and third quarters after both teams played to an 11-11 tie in the first quarter.

“We tried to change the tempo on them,” Grisdale said. “We caused a couple of turnovers which got us some outs and some easier shots. I don’t think our shot selection was really good. We were settling for 3s. I think the same thing happened in the third quarter. It’s been a long ride. We have to take a look at what we did here. Other teams are going to try different things against us.”

Daniel Kramer was the catalyst Poland needed with 11 of his game-high 19 points in the second quarter.

“We were just trying to push the ball,” Kramer said. “We were playing pretty sloppy on both ends. We had to pick our game up. We were missing shots. I just wanted to push the lead further.”

After shooting 4 of 13 in the opening quarter, Poland was 14 of 29 in the middle quarters as they outscored the Wildcats 35-16. Struthers (10-12) struggled with their shots most of the night, but particularly in the second and third quarters, when they were 6 of 22.

“We wanted to get into transition,” Grisdale said. “Most of those points came in transition. We were able to cause turnovers and he [Kramer] runs the court really well. He’s a tough matchup in transition. He has some length and was getting to the rim. He gave us a spark.”

Poland held a 46-27 lead heading into the final quarter. That’s when Struthers’ length became a factor.

Kevin Traylor got hot with eight of his team-high 18 points in the final quarter as the Wildcats pulled within six, 47-41, with three minutes to play.

“You have to work hard to get shots,” Struthers coach Michael Wernicki said. “If you don’t capitalize, they don’t come easy. We did get some open ones. We had our opportunities. I felt like if we would have made some shots, maybe we would have had a chance. We made them bend, but they didn’t break.”

Kramer made a shot with 1:14 to play for a nine-point lead. It was just one of two field goals in the quarter for the Bulldogs, who were just 8 of 21 at the line. But Poland made enough when it mattered in crunch time.

“You get to the end of the season, it’s life or death,” Grisdale said. “If you aren’t willing to fight hard, you’re going home.”