by CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio– Just a season ago, Walsh Jesuit defeated Stow in the regional semifinals, setting up the 2023-24 season for an in-season battle.
For the Warriors, head coach Joe Wojcik understood what the task at hand was and he knew there were going to be a lot of emotions running high Tuesday night.
“It was a dogfight like it always is between Walsh and Stow,” he said with a grin on his face as his team held on to a 50-46 win over the Bulldogs. “We knew it was going to be a fight and it was and we are happy we came out victorious.”
The Bulldogs struggled immensely throughout the first half, as shots weren’t falling. Senior Reece Raymond-Smith led all scorers at the break with 10 of Stow’s 15 points in the first half. The Bulldogs could never garner a lead, with the Warriors dominating second-chance points in the paint.
Senior Sean Spicer—known for his 3-point shooting–got started early in the first quarter as the Warriors held the Bulldogs scoreless for the first four and a half minutes of the game. Spicer had two early 3-pointers as his team built a 15-6 lead after the first quarter, something coach Wojcik thought was one of the difference-makers Tuesday night.
“It was very important to us because we wanted to dictate the tempo,” Wojcik explained. “We knew their best punch was coming early and we wanted to be able to withstand that.”
Like the first half, the Bulldogs found themselves often down close to double-digits but came storming back throughout the fourth quarter. Reece Raymond-Smith did his best to try and mount a comeback for the Bulldogs as he finished with a game-high 27 points during the loss. He had 16 points in the fourth quarter alone, with the Warriors unable to limit his big presence inside the paint.
With under one minute left in the game, senior guard Andy Mergen was able to come away with a steal, leading to Reece connecting on two free throws to get the game within one.
From there, the Bulldogs fouled Spicer, where he would ice away the game for his team, connecting on five of six free throws down the stretch being the difference maker for his team.
“We practice them every day in practice and when we miss them in practice the entire team runs,” Spicer explained. “So there is a big emphasis on free throws.”
For the Warriors, Spicer finished with a team-high 18 points during the win with Jesse James and Joe Sitarz rounding out the scoring with 12 and 7 points, respectively.
For the Bulldogs, Cam Marconi finished with eight points along with four from Michael Romano.
