Coach Ken Grisdale's Poland Bulldogs won the district crown and will advance to the Regional Semifinals with a 75-65 win over Cardinal Mooney in Saturday's District Final at Boardman High School.
Ben Donlow led the Bulldogs with 21 points, and reached the 1,000-point plateau for his career. Niko Fatimus chipped in with 19 points and Luke Wollet added 13.
Grisdale said he's very happy with the way his team played this game, and he's proud of the way Cardinal Mooney played as well.
"Extremely, I'm also very proud of how the Mooney kids played," Grisdale said. "That's a tough situation. There's a lot of frustration in the community between the two schools, but there shouldn't be. They've got quality kids. We've got quality kids. And I think both teams came and played their hearts out. Fortunately, we were able to walk out with a win."
Jeff Chahine netted 27 points for the Cardinals and Ryan Gallagher scored 10. The Cards end the season with a 17-6 record.
Poland will meet Akron SVSM Thursday night in the Division II Regional Semifinals. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. at the Canton Memorial Civic Center.
