Stowsentry.com - Stow boys dominate backyard rival Devils

by Frank Aceto

Associate Sports Editor

Stow -- Once upon a time, this was a thrilling showdown between two neighboring teams.

Not anymore.

The host Stow-Munroe Falls boys basketball squad celebrated Senior Night with a smashing 81-51 victory over Tallmadge Feb. 23.

The Bulldogs led from start to finish and completely dominated every facet of the game.

Stow has gotten the best of the Blue Devils during the last several years in a contest that always seems to take place a week before the two teams' respective postseason tournaments.

In fact, a number of the those wins have been rather lopsided.

Turn back the clock several years ago, though, and this game had all the makings of a classic.

The Bulldogs (12-7) scored a 59-57 win over the Blue Devils back in 2003 and also posted a 50-48 victory in 2002. During both games, Tallmadge missed the final shot.

Alas for the Blue Devils, those days are gone.

Tallmadge rallied from a 9-2 deficit to cut Stow's advantage to 16-12 before the Bulldogs put it into overdrive again.

Stow drained nine three-pointers on the evening, including five from senior guard Blake Williams, who finished with a game-high 25 points.

The Blue Devils, who featured two freshmen in their starting lineup, have been decimated by injuries to key players throughout the season.

The latest player to go down was senior forward Chris West, who made his mark on the defensive end. West is expected to miss the rest of the season after suffering an ankle injury earlier in the month.

The Bulldogs, on the other hand, welcomed a player back in the mix. Senior guard Tyler Hawkins, who broke his hand early in the season, got some quality minutes in the final home game of his career.

"Tyler started for us early in the year," Stow head coach Dave Close said. "It was a frustrating year for him, but he has been a great teammate."

Other seniors honored were Williams, guard Aaron Stefanov and forwards Kevin Podnar and Ryan Shay.

The Bulldogs had a 36-17 advantage at halftime and continued to pour it on in the second half.

Stow moved the ball quickly from side to side and shot the ball exceptionally well from the perimeter.

The Bulldogs, who saw their hopes of capturing a piece of the Northeast Ohio Conference River Division title shattered with a 57-55 loss to Brush Feb. 19 in Lyndhurst, had three other players in double figures.

Stefanov and guard Kyle Scelza each had 12 points and center Mike Garrison added 11 points.

"It's always great to get a win," Close said. "We wanted to be tougher mentally. We had a good mix from both our inside and outside guys."

The Blue Devils struggled from the perimeter and had a tough time matching up with their taller opponents.

Tallmadge appeared confused at times on offense. The Blue Devils seemed to have communication issues as several of their passes sailed out of bounds.

Tallmadge had even more issues on defense.

Stow managed to get a number of fast-break opportunities and scored at will in the painted area.

The Blue Devils were a step or two slower than the Bulldogs, which allowed a number of open lanes toward the basket.

The Bulldogs were scheduled to close the regular season against River Division foe Solon Feb. 26 on the road. Results were not available at press time.

Stow, the fourth seed, is set to play Akron Ellet in the opening round of the Copley Division I Sectional-District Tournament March 3 at 6:30 p.m.

If the Bulldogs win, they are scheduled to play the Hudson-Kent Roosevelt winner in a sectional championship game March 6 at 8 p.m.

E-mail: faceto@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-686-3914