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MACEDONIA, Ohio–With the playoffs just two weeks away, the urgency to get there sometimes is great, especially with matchups and seeds already determined.
Despite the fact that the regular season is coming to an end, the Stow Bulldogs are still making a statement.
They were able to utilize a 2-3 zone in the fourth quarter to limit the Nordonia offense, ultimately proving to be the difference maker down the stretch.
“It was a slugfest, they played really, really good defense and I thought we played good defense too, we just played a little differently,” Stow head coach David Close said. “They had called a timeout (in the fourth quarter) and then we took a look at (the zone) and stayed in it until they answered it and our kids did a really good job in the zone, finding the shooters and rebounding the heck out of the ball.”
With the game tied at 34 heading into the fourth quarter, Close figured it would be a good time to switch things up, and not just on the defensive side of the ball. With his team able to stand strong in a zone defense his team does not like to be in as Close explained after the game, they were able to get a myriad of steals and transition points to start to open the game up.
Stow has opened up the 4th Q on an 8-0 run with under 4 mins left, they lead 42-34 @SportsKee1 @StowBoysHoops pic.twitter.com/rN9J9hruOh
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) February 8, 2023
Starting with senior point guard Titus Baskerville. He had nine points in the fourth quarter alone, which was good enough to outscore the Knights by himself. The Bulldog defense surrendered just six points in the fourth quarter, even holding the Knights scoreless in the opening five minutes in the fourth quarter.
How about this hustle play from @Titus_bask. He’s been a spark all night for his team, especially late in the 4th Q
Stow leads 51-40, 1 min left in the game. @SportsKee1 @StowBoysHoops pic.twitter.com/D6rwd1NTvn— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) February 8, 2023
“He’s a huge part of what we do,” Close said after the game.
“We got a lot of good stops and we just got out in transition,” Baskerville said about the fourth-quarter scoring run. “I feel like I’m pretty good (in transition) and I can get it and go and race to the basket.”
Throughout the first half, the Knights were able to find a rhythm, even playing ahead for all of the second quarter. After Stow took a 15-13 lead after the first quarter, the Knights shut out the Bulldogs in the final four minutes of the first half. They out-scored the Bulldogs 11-5 in the quarter to head into halftime with a 24-20 lead.
The Bulldogs made just one field goal in the second quarter as well, a Nate Boozer layup about halfway through the quarter. Nordonia senior Gabe Ingram had seven points in the first half to pace his team but was shut out the rest of the game with the zone defense and stellar defense around the rim.
“We ran zone a lot last year and we hate running that,” Baskerville said. “We hate running It because we love guarding people and having another tool in our back pocket is good.”
For the game, Baskerville led the way with a game-high 17 points. Junior Reece Raymond-Smith finished with 11 points along with Nick Timberlake connecting on three 3-pointers to end with nine points during the win.
For the Knights, Liam Gopalakrishna finished with a team-high 11 points during the loss. Ingram had 7 points along with Landon Naylor, Isaac Cherry and Joey Palinkas each scoring five points.
The Bulldogs are now on a nine-game winning streak with their last loss coming in the hands of the Knights back on Jan 6 during a triple-overtime loss. Since then, they’ve been able to build off of the loss, coming more together as a team to highlight the areas they need to work on as they head into the playoffs with a top-five seed in their respective district.
“We’re all focused on the next game and we just want to keep that level,” Baskerville explained with a smile on his face.
