The Purple Palace was the site of the return of David Walker to the Stow boys' basketball line-up on Friday night, and team, the coaches, the Stow fans, and Davey himself were excited. The Barberton fans were not. Walker's return allowed the Dawgs to resume the roles they were playing earlier in the season, and the entire team flourished in their 61-53 win over the Barberton Magics. The Bulldogs led this one the entire way, and except for a brief flourish by the Magics late in the game, the Barberton fan base was virtually silent for most of the night. Mike Waggoner got things started with an atypical 3 pointer, then Walker grabbed a Barbeton miss and fed Tyler DeVitis for a basket and a 5-1 lead. Walker scored his first points in 7 games when he hit his first 3 of the night and Kyle Scelza added a 3 pointer as Stow built a 14-10 first period lead. Nick Levitsky extended the Bulldog lead with a nice driving lay-up off a Walker assist to start the second period. Barberton keep hanging around, and trailed 18-15 when Stow went on a mini-run, keyed by a gutsy diving steal by Matt Beech. Kyle Scelza struggled early, but found his range midway through the second period, and Beech set him up with an assist for his third straight trey as Stow led 28-20. A little bad blood crept into the waning moments of the half which led to off-setting technicals, but Stow led 28-22 at the half. The Dawgs canned six 3 pointers and had good balance on scoring and on the boards.

The game stalled somewhat early in the third, but Beech was down on the floor scrapping for balls to keep the Stow lead. Barberton got within 2 at 30-28, but the Stow backcourt found Beech underneath on three straight trips down the floor and Matt converted all and extended the lead to 36-28. Walker hit a pair of free throws and Stow had a 10 point lead at 38-28. Another pair of foul shots by Walker gave them a 40-28 lead, but the Magics hit a 3 before the break and Stow led 42-31 with 8 minutes left. Blake Podnar came up with a big momentum changing blocked shot that led to a Walker 3 and Stow had their biggest lead of the night at 45-31. The Magics tried to get back in this one with some pressure and three point shooting, and they managed to edge within 6, but Scelza's spot-on floor-length pass found Walker for a bucket and Stow cruised home. Walker had 18 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and a pair of nice steals for his first game back. Scelza hit three first half 3s, but then turned his attention to the boards and drawing defenders, finishing with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal. Beech added 12 points, had 3 rebounds and and an assist and steal. Waggoner finished with 9 points, 3 assists and a blocked shot. DeVitis had 8 points and 2 assists, while Podnar blocked a pair of shots and had a free throw. Much more balanced than the last few games.

The JayVees also won a big one Friday night. Two straight Bryan Ritchie 3 pointers gave the Pups a 14-5 early edge, and Trent Barsody hit Ritchie for his third 3 early int eh second period for a 17-6 lead. Jordan Massey saw an opening and drove the lane for a basket and made the subsequent free throw for a 20-9 Stow lead, and Joey Fencl hit his second 3 of the half for a 27-13 lead. Ritchie ripped the ball away from a Barberton player early in the second half and found Billy Carlson for the shot and a 31-17 lead. Barberton crept back to within 33-24 before Barsody made a banker from a difficult angle, followed by Ritchie grabbing a rebound and throwing a long one to Zach Schratz for a basket and a 39-25 Stow lead. Stow eventually won 46-34. Barsody was Stow's leading scorer with 11 and had 5 assists and 3 rebounds. Ritchie had 9 points, 7 assists, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and a blocked shot. Schratz ended with 8 points and 7 rebounds. Fencl ended with 9 points and 5 rebounds. Carlson added 6 points and 3 boards, Mike Zavodnik had an assist and a rebound, and Kory Slusser pulled down an RB.

The Stow varsity team plays at 3:00 pm Sunday at Walsh University in the Dunks4Diabetes event against Alldardice High School, from the Pittsburgh area. Stow returns to NOC play on Friday February 3rd when they travel to Mayfield for a 6:00 pm JV, 7:30 pm varsity contest.

The Bulldog boys' basketball team ran off to a 28 point lead midway through the third period, then absorbed a determined Twinsburg run to win their fourth game of five in the NOC River Division, defeating the Tigers 68-59 at Stow's gymnasium. The game ended up being a showcase for two great shooters, Stow's Kyle Scelza and Twinsburg's Malik Billingsley. Scelza keyed his team's win, Billingsley wouldn't let his team give up, with seven 3s on the night. But it was Stow's entire team effort that led to their win. Tyler DeVitis hit Matt Beech for a quick 2, then he found Mike Waggoner open for a soft jumper and a 9-0 Stow lead. Then Blake Podnar assisted to Scelza for his second 3, as the Bulldogs led 16-4 after one. Beech got a put-back basket and an 18-4 lead, then DeVitis found Jacob Williams for 2, followed by a Scelza put-back, as Stow forged ahead 22-4. Waggoner was fouled, followed by a technical, and 4 free throws and a Scelza lay-up from Podnar on the ensuing in-bounds and the Dawgs were firmly in control at 28-8. Then DeVitis got a nice steal, went the length of the floor and laid it in for a 30-8 lead. It was 32-11 Stow at the half.

Nick Levitsky, who got the start Friday, was also productive in the assists department. He found an open Scelza twice in a row for 3s by Kyle, and played aggressive defense. In fact, the entire team's intensity level and aggressiveness was back to Bulldog standards, and it showed in their lead.. But Billingsley got a hot hand and scored 10 straight to get his team’s deficit inside 20. The Tigers started to pressure the ballhandler, and got a few steals and some turnovers and converted them to pull within 16 at 49-33. Podnar ended the quarter with a deft pass to Waggoner, who head faked then juked inside for the score. 51-33 Stow after 3. DeVitis again drove the lane for a score, and continued to pass to the open shooter. Billingsley kept hopes alive, draining three more 3s in the final period, but Beech made a banging bucket to thwart the Tigers momentum. Twinsburg crept back to within 7 at 62-55, but Stow kept things under control and came away with the win. They now move to 4-1 after the first rotation of the River Division schedule. Cuyahoga Falls shocked Brush, dealing the Arcs their first loss of the season, and Hudson beat Solon. Stow and Brush are now tied at 4-1 atop the standings, with Twinsburg, Hudson and Falls all at 2-3 and Solon at 1-4.

Scelza ended the night with 31 points, 7 rebounds and a pair of steals. Beech ended with a dozen points, a pair of boards, a blocked shot and a steal. Waggoner had 10 points and a pair of rebounds, with Williams totaling 6 points and 2 boards. Podnar had 3 points and 3 rebounds and a pair of assists. DeVitis scored 4, grabbed 3 rebounds had a pair of steals and a whopping 9 assists. Levitsky had 2 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Billingsley ended with 27 points for Twinsburg. Stow was still without David Walker (wrist) and Matt Chadsey (nose) at game time.

The Twinsburg fans and coaching staff showed total class in financially assisting Stow's basketball family's efforts to raise funds for Bri Dishong, a Stow Alumni who is fighting cancer. Thanks to all who donated, but a special thanks to the Tiger Moms, Dads and Coaches.

The JV squad faded in the second half of their game, losing 45-38. Zach Schratz got a 3 pointer to tie the game at 6 and Bryan Ritchie hit a buzzer beater for a 3 and the game was tied at 11 after one. Twinsburg kept getting the ball down low, and the Tiger Cubs ruled the backboards most of the game. Ritchie hit a pair of free throws to give Stow their only lead of the game at 17-15. They trailed 19-17 at the break, with Ritchie getting 11, and the team only accounting for 3 rebounds. Stow fell behind by 10 as they had trouble with Cameron Dial underneath. Joey Fencl hit Ritchie for a nice driving lay-up to get the Pups back to within 4, but Dial was too tough down the stretch, and Twinsburg won this one in the paint. Dial ended with 16 for Twinsburg. Ritchie led all scorers with 19 points, but also had 6 rebounds (the team had 11 total). Jordan Massey played solidly off the bench, scrapping for loose balls, and pressuring on defense, and ended with 9 points and 2 rebounds. Schratz ended with 4 points, with Connor Havanas, Mike Zavodnik and Trent Barsody each having 2 points.

The boys are on the road next Friday, at Barberton and Sunday, at Walsh University in the Dunks4Diabetes Showcase, where they play Aldardice from Pittsburgh at 3 pm (varsity game only).