Bulldog Blizzard Of Threes Buries Bears Before Real Storm Hits
The murmur all day was about the impending doom of a killer snowstorm bearing down on the area, but the flakes had just began to fly when the Stow Bulldogs unleashed their own storm - of 3-pointers - and defeated the North Royalton Bears Friday night 74-46. Blake Williams got the evening going with a 3-point bomb, but the Bears hung tough until Aaron Stefanov stole an in-bounds pass for a lay-up and a 12-8 lead. Stefanov hit a trey, followed by a long-ball from Kyle Scelza, followed by another Stefanov jumper and the Bulldogs cruised to a 22-11 first quarter lead. David Walker hit a 3-pointer to start the second, then hit another the next time down the floor and the Dawgs were out in front 28-14. Ryan Yurkschatt made it 30-14 with a nice baseline drive. Williams hit another 3-bomb, followed by Walker's driving lay-up and another 3-pointer, then Davey made a steal and fed Mike Garrison for a bunny and the Dawgs led 39-17.
As the Bears began to inch back into the game, Stow would have none of it. Yurkschatt made a bucket and a subsequent free-throw for an old-fashioned 3-point play, followed by another Walker steal and end-to-end lay-up, then Stefanov put the exclamation point on this one with another 3 as Stow extended their lead, and this one was essentially over. Colin McCullough lead North Royalton and all scorers with 18 points, while Stefanov had 17 for Stow. Talk about balanced scoring - Walker had 13 points, Garrison had 11, Yurkschatt added 9, Scelza and Williams each tallied 8, Kevin Podnar had 4, and David O'Neill and Tyler Racheter each added a pair. Garrison had 7 rebounds, with Yurkschatt pulling down 6, while Podnar, Stefanov and Tyler Hawkins added 3 boards a piece. Walker had 6 assists on the night and 3 steals. Stow moves to 9-5 on the season and gets back into River Division play this Tuesday against Cuyahoga Falls.
The JV game looked like OT again, but the Bulldogs got it done in regulation time, winning a close one 35-33. It was all Lucas Hunt early on, as he scored Stow's first 11 points. DeMareo Fricks made his debut in the game, and it was good to see him on the wood. Kyle Brown gave Stow a 17-12 lead, and Blake Podnar pounded the boards in the first half as Stow led 25-21 at the buzzer. Stow used the full-court press to keep the Bear Cubs under control, but they still led 31-30 after three. Spencer Michaels put North Royalton up 33-31, but Mike Waggoner tied the game at 33 with a nice lay-up, and then Stow forced a turnover and Hunt was fouled with 3 seconds left in the game, and he canned both shots and the Pups won another thriller. Hunt finished with 14 points, while Waggoner had 7 and Nathan Williams added 6. Waggoner had 4 rebounds with Podnar pulling down 3.
It's Rivalry Week for the Dawgs. Tuesday night they begin the second round of games in the River Division of the NOC with a hiome game against Cuyahoga Falls, then the team takes to the road for a Friday night game against Hudson. Both nights begin with a JV contest at 6 pm, followed by varsity at 7:30 pm.
