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BRECKSVILLE, Ohio– Stow head coach David Close asked his team at halftime if his team was done. Their answer was a confident no, after holding a 36-24 halftime lead.
With the help of senior point guard Nick Timberlake’s stellar shooting behind the arc Tuesday night, Stow was able to hand Brecksville just their second loss of the season, defeating them 69-56.
“I told the kids at halftime if they think they’re done and they all said no,” Close said. “I go do you think you’re done, and they all scream no….we were disciplined down the stretch and got some good looks and took care of the basketball down the stretch.”
One of the main reasons the Bulldogs were able to maintain a lead throughout the entire game was the 3-point shooting from Timberlake. From the opening tip-off, he had the green light, burying three after three, giving his team the spark they needed coming into the game.
“I was just locked in,” Timberlake said of his performance during the win. “We’ve been playing really well as a team.”
HALFTIME: Stow 36, Brecksville 24.
An electric first half from @nicktimberlake8 who has 17 points, knocking down five 3-pointers.
Luke Skaljac has 14 for the Bees. @SportsKee1 @StowBoysHoops pic.twitter.com/5ZrUri9Il6— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) January 25, 2023
It started in the first half. Whenever the Bees couldn’t get much going offensively in the first half, Timberlake made them pay. He ended up connecting on five 3-pointers in the first half, scoring 17 of his team’s 36 points to help give his team a 12-point lead at halftime.
Holding a five-point lead after the first quarter, the Bulldogs rode their momentum high ending the first half, behind Timberlake’s sharpshooting and Titus Baskerville’s elite court vision.
In fact, the Bulldogs opened the first six minutes of the second quarter on an 18-12 run, making a good effort to limit Luke Skajlac from making plays on the opposing end of the court.
Skaljac—one of Northeast Ohio’s premier guards this season—had 14 of his team’s 24 points in the first half.
It wasn’t just the way coach Close’s team was shooting the ball Tuesday night, it was their ability to make game-changing plays on the defensive side of the ball as well, setting three charges in the first half to kill any momentum from the Bees offensively.
“We wanted to draw a few charges in there, I’m disappointed we didn’t get any in the second half,” Close chuckled. “We did much better the last minute (of the game) of trying to bottle (Luke Skaljac) up and from getting him to the rim.”
The Bees went as far as Skaljac went in the second half. He was able to get to the rim pretty consistently throughout the third quarter, as he started to inch his team closer to a comeback. He was able to help get them within five at one point, but as the Bulldogs did for most of the night, the continued to make shots when they needed to in order to pull away late in the game.
@LSkaljac continues his second half surge, as he’s up to 22 points with @beeshoops within five, 43-38, 2 mins left in the 3rd Q. @SportsKee1 pic.twitter.com/diXKh77ym3
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) January 25, 2023
“Nick’s a tremendous shooter…he had it and we ran some things to him and the kids executed very nicely, got the ball to him,” Close said about the way Timberlake was able to shoot the outside shot so consistently during the win. “He had it going..he’s been a different guy every night and tonight was definitely him.”
With under four minutes left in the fourth quarter, a Skaljac mid-range jump shot cut the Stow lead to 53-49, but the Bulldogs were able to end the game on a 16-7 run to come away with another impressive road win.
FINAL: Stow defeats Brecksville 69-56, another big time win for the Bulldogs @SportsKee1 @StowBoysHoops pic.twitter.com/v64MkAvGVj
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) January 25, 2023
For the Bulldogs, Timberlake finished with a team-high 26 points–including eight 3-pointers. Reece Raymond-Smith and Titus Baskerville rounded out the scoring with 13 and 11 points respectively during the win.
For the Bees, Skaljac ended with a game-high 33 points along with 16 points from fellow senior Chase Garito
Last month, the Bees were able to take down the Bulldogs, 65-46 on the road and since that game, the Bulldogs have only suffered one loss– a triple overtime loss to Nordonia back on Jan. 6.
The team is playing some of its best basketball of the season right now, but Close knows there is more work to be done.
“We want to get better,” Close said when asked if his team is tournament ready. “What does all this mean come Friday night? Nothing, it means nothing.”
