BOYS BASKETBALL

¯ FITCH 49, LAKESIDE 48: ASHTABULA — The Falcons held off Lakeside in the final seconds to upset the Dragons in a Division I sectional first-round matchup.

Lakeside, the 18 seed, had the ball with 7 seconds remaining but failed to get off a shot.

Fitch’s Todd Simons led all scorers with 16 points. Allen Underwood followed him with 12, and Cam Smith put in 10. The 24th-seeded Falcons trailed by three after the first quarter but outscored Lakeside, 17-11, in the second frame.

Brandon Fored and Don Parsons each scored 12 for the Dragons.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

¯ POLAND 78, WEST GEAUGA 67, OT: POLAND — Poland’s Jackie Grisdale dominated overtime after the Bulldogs blew an eight-point fourth-quarter lead in a Division II district semifinal.

Poland (21-2) outscored the Wolverines, 14-3, in the extra session and now host Marlington at 7 p.m. Saturday in a district final. The Bulldogs led, 19-10 after one quarter and held a 51-43 advantage heading the final stanza. Lex Hocevar of West Geauga scored eight of her team-best 14 points in the fourth, and Ashlyn Drayer added five or her 10. Grisdale took over in overtime.

She made 7-of-9 free throws and scored 11 of her game-high 31 points to help the Bulldogs pull away. Connie Cougras and Morgan Kluchar each contributed 12 points for Poland.

≤ SALEM 45, KENSTON 36: SALEM — The fourth-seeded Quakers used a 12-3 scoring advantage in the third quarter to propel them past the sixth-seeded Bombers in a Division II district semifinal.

Salem (15-5) will play Perry in a district final on Saturday night.

The host Quakers led just 22-18 at halftime, but pushed that to 34-21 entering the fourth quarter.

Abby Perry scored 12 points to lead Salem. Abbie Davidson and Kyla Jamison added nine points apiece.

¯ MARLINGTON 58, WEST BRANCH 53: ALLIANCE — In a nip-and-tuck contest throughout, the third-seeded Dukes edged the fifth-seeded Warriors in a Division II district semifinal.

Marlington (19-4) outscored West Branch (20-5) 11-5 at the free-throw line and that proved to be the difference. Both teams made 20 field goals. West Branch made eight 3-pointers, just one more than the hosts. The Dukes led 16-13, 29-26 and 43-37 at the quarter stoppages.

Jillian Pidgeon made five 3-pointers and scored 19 points for the Warriors. Sydney Mercer added nine points and Anna Lippiatt scored eight.

¯ EAST CANTON 52, JACKSON-MILTON 44: CANTON — The Wizards won a back-and-forth battle with Jackson-Milton thanks to a big fourth quarter in a Division IV District semifinal.

The Blue Jays (15-8) rallied from a 12-2 first-quarter deficit and took a two-point lead going into the fourth quarter. That’s when East Canton (12-5) found its rhythm, outscoring Jackson-Milton, 24-14, in the final 8 minutes.

Isbella Kline scored nine of her game-high 18 in the fourth quarter for East Canton.

Ava Darney paced the Blue Jays with 12 point, and Kylie Wilson added 11.

¯ McDONALD 69, SPRINGFIELD 42: McDONALD — Molly Howard scored all of her game-high 22 points in two decisive quarters to help McDonald pull away from the Tigers in a Division IV district semifinal.

Howard started the game by scoring 13 first-quarter points, including three 3-pointers, as the Blue Devils took a 19-10 lead. Springfield stayed in the game in the second quarter before Howard again went on a tear, this time scoring nine points in the third quarter. McDonald outscored the Tigers, 25-7, in the third to put the game away.

Sophia Constantino added 13 points, and Brooke Lewis put in 11 for the Devils.

The Tigers’ Jacey Mullen tied Howard for the game-high with 22 points.