Poland and Lakeview won sectional games to set up a Div. II district showdown.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN — With less than two minutes remaining in Friday's Division II sectional final and the contest no longer in doubt, Poland junior Ben Umbel picked off a Chaney pass, rushed downcourt, elevated and ... clanged a dunk off the rim.
Seconds later, as Umbel's teammates were razzing him, a fan yelled over at him and said, "Another foot."
"It slipped," he said after the game, an 81-57 victory by the Bulldogs. "That's all I've got to say."
When asked what kind of grief he's been getting, one of his teammates — right on cue — walked over and said, "White men can't jump."
"Stuff like that," Umbel said.
For the record, Umbel has one dunk already this season — it came at East Liverpool — but he was hoping to do it on a bigger stage.
"It was an away game and since it was all the way down there, there wasn't too many fans," Umbel said. "I wanted to do it again."
Umbel tore his labrum before the season and now wears a shoulder harness — he'll need surgery after the season — and has been playing at about 90 percent effectiveness this year, which has been good enough. He finished with 12 points, three rebounds, four assists and four steals for Poland (18-3), which led by as much as 30 against Chaney (2-19).
Poland too strong
After a strong start by the Cowboys, Poland applied its press (partly because Bulldog center Lou Coppola got in foul trouble) and Chaney had no answer. Lovell added 16 points, five rebounds and four steals for second-seeded Poland, which will face fourth-seeded Lakeview in Wednesday's district semifinal at Boardman High School.
Lakeview defeated Hubbard 55-45 in Friday's second game.
Coppola had 14 points and Anthony DeFelice added 12 as Poland's starters played sparingly in the fourth quarter. Not wanting to run up the score, Bulldogs coach Ken Grisdale put in his junior varsity players early in the fourth, only to watch Chaney coach Bernard Bolha leave his starters in and press the Bulldogs.
The tactic allowed the Cowboys to cut their deficit to 15 with two minutes left, prompting Grisdale to put his starters back on the floor.
"I try to be respectful and not show any team up, so I was a little bothered by that," Grisdale said of Chaney's press.
Bolha left immediately after the game and was not available for comment. Evan Busch finished with 27 points — including 18 in the fourth quarter — for the Cowboys.
Lakeview-Hubbard
Hubbard, which lost to Lakeview twice in the regular season, seemed poised to pull the upset on Friday. The Eagles led 39-35 lead with just under six minutes left in the fourth quarter and had the momentum.
Then Lakeview erupted.
Led by some key baskets by Dustin Opalka, the Bulldogs went on a 19-0 run over the next five minutes to put the game away.
When asked about the run after the game, Lakeview coach George Lanterman said, "Are you serious? I did not know that. Wow. What a tribute to the kids."
Opalka, who finished with 16 points, five rebounds and four steals, didn't realize it either.
"I had no idea," he said. "The game goes by so fast."
Strong play
Mike Marando added 16 points and five rebounds for the Bulldogs (16-5), while Greg McCumber had 10 points and six rebounds.
"When you play an opponent three times, it comes down to the little things," said Opalka. "The team that rebounds and makes open shots is going to win."
Hubbard (14-8) didn't do much of either in the fourth quarter.
"Once the floodgates opened, we couldn't shut 'em," said Hubbard coach Rick Fox.
Frank Rosile finished with 16 points and Marc Kanetsky added 12 for the Eagles, who had one of their best seasons in years.
"That's one of our top records in a while and our seniors built the foundation for this program," said Fox. "We want to have a program like Lakeview and Poland and you start with winning seasons."
Toward the end of the game, the Hubbard student section started chanting "Let's go Poland."
"I predict someone in blue and white will win Wednesday's game," said Lanterman, whose team lost to Poland 56-38 on Dec. 8. "Poland has such a great basketball team. We're happy to be in the district final and we're looking forward to the challenge."
scalzo@vindy.com
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Poland and Lakeview won sectional games to set up a Div. II district showdown.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN — With less than two minutes remaining in Friday's Division II sectional final and the contest no longer in doubt, Poland junior Ben Umbel picked off a Chaney pass, rushed downcourt, elevated and ... clanged a dunk off the rim.
Seconds later, as Umbel's teammates were razzing him, a fan yelled over at him and said, "Another foot."
"It slipped," he said after the game, an 81-57 victory by the Bulldogs. "That's all I've got to say."
When asked what kind of grief he's been getting, one of his teammates — right on cue — walked over and said, "White men can't jump."
"Stuff like that," Umbel said.
For the record, Umbel has one dunk already this season — it came at East Liverpool — but he was hoping to do it on a bigger stage.
"It was an away game and since it was all the way down there, there wasn't too many fans," Umbel said. "I wanted to do it again."
Umbel tore his labrum before the season and now wears a shoulder harness — he'll need surgery after the season — and has been playing at about 90 percent effectiveness this year, which has been good enough. He finished with 12 points, three rebounds, four assists and four steals for Poland (18-3), which led by as much as 30 against Chaney (2-19).
Poland too strong
After a strong start by the Cowboys, Poland applied its press (partly because Bulldog center Lou Coppola got in foul trouble) and Chaney had no answer. Lovell added 16 points, five rebounds and four steals for second-seeded Poland, which will face fourth-seeded Lakeview in Wednesday's district semifinal at Boardman High School.
Lakeview defeated Hubbard 55-45 in Friday's second game.
Coppola had 14 points and Anthony DeFelice added 12 as Poland's starters played sparingly in the fourth quarter. Not wanting to run up the score, Bulldogs coach Ken Grisdale put in his junior varsity players early in the fourth, only to watch Chaney coach Bernard Bolha leave his starters in and press the Bulldogs.
The tactic allowed the Cowboys to cut their deficit to 15 with two minutes left, prompting Grisdale to put his starters back on the floor.
"I try to be respectful and not show any team up, so I was a little bothered by that," Grisdale said of Chaney's press.
Bolha left immediately after the game and was not available for comment. Evan Busch finished with 27 points — including 18 in the fourth quarter — for the Cowboys.
Lakeview-Hubbard
Hubbard, which lost to Lakeview twice in the regular season, seemed poised to pull the upset on Friday. The Eagles led 39-35 lead with just under six minutes left in the fourth quarter and had the momentum.
Then Lakeview erupted.
Led by some key baskets by Dustin Opalka, the Bulldogs went on a 19-0 run over the next five minutes to put the game away.
When asked about the run after the game, Lakeview coach George Lanterman said, "Are you serious? I did not know that. Wow. What a tribute to the kids."
Opalka, who finished with 16 points, five rebounds and four steals, didn't realize it either.
"I had no idea," he said. "The game goes by so fast."
Strong play
Mike Marando added 16 points and five rebounds for the Bulldogs (16-5), while Greg McCumber had 10 points and six rebounds.
"When you play an opponent three times, it comes down to the little things," said Opalka. "The team that rebounds and makes open shots is going to win."
Hubbard (14-8) didn't do much of either in the fourth quarter.
"Once the floodgates opened, we couldn't shut 'em," said Hubbard coach Rick Fox.
Frank Rosile finished with 16 points and Marc Kanetsky added 12 for the Eagles, who had one of their best seasons in years.
"That's one of our top records in a while and our seniors built the foundation for this program," said Fox. "We want to have a program like Lakeview and Poland and you start with winning seasons."
Toward the end of the game, the Hubbard student section started chanting "Let's go Poland."
"I predict someone in blue and white will win Wednesday's game," said Lanterman, whose team lost to Poland 56-38 on Dec. 8. "Poland has such a great basketball team. We're happy to be in the district final and we're looking forward to the challenge."
scalzo@vindy.com
Saturday, March 3, 2007
With less than two minutes remaining in Friday's Division II sectional final and the contest no longer in doubt, Poland...
