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Grisdale’s Bulldogs return to district
Kramer leads Poland over Niles
By Greg Gulas
POLAND
Daniel Kramer scored a game-high 20 points, Braeden O’Shaughnessy added 19 and Michael Cougras 14 to give Poland a 74-47 victory over Niles in a Division II sectional final Friday night.
It’s the 20th time in 26 seasons that Poland has advanced to districts under head coach Ken Grisdale.
“The goal tonight was to contest all shots and hold [Cyler] Kane-Johnson and [Corbin] Foy in check from the 3-point line,” Kramer said. “We haven’t fared well recently at district’s, but we’re playing well right now and ready to make a nice tournament run.”
Cougras scored eight of his points in the opening period to stake the Bulldogs (21-2) to a 19-12 lead, adding two more of his game-high four triples in the second period for a 33-17 halftime advantage.
“We wanted to jump on them right way and I was feeling it with my first shot,” Cougras said. “Defensive pressure was our game plan and we played well defensively the entire game.”
O’Shaughnessy scored 13 of his 19 in the in the second half as Poland won its 16 consecutive game.
“This was more of a statement game for us,” O’Shaughnessy said. “We’re the No. 1-seeded team and the bull’s-eye is on our back each time we hit the floor. The goal was to win and advance and tonight we did just that.”
The Bulldogs outrebounded the Red Dragons 40-26, with Kramer grabbing 11 boards for a double-double.
“We strive to play the perfect game and tonight I felt like we executed really well at both ends of the court,” Grisdale said. “I was pleased with our balanced scoring, Michael Cougras stepped up in the first half and our entire supporting cast stepped up and did their jobs.”
Kane-Johnson led Niles (13-11) with 17 points while Foy added three buckets from beyond the arc for the Red Dragons, who saw their three-game win streak come to a screeching half.
“Poland is a good team and they are well-coached,” Red Dragons head coach Doug Foster said. “Anyone who plays them is going to have trouble. O’Shaughnessy is a beast and I’m not so sure they missed a shot in the first half.
“I’m proud of my team because we had our first winning season in a long time and the other night, won our first tournament game since 2009. They never quit.”