Stow-Munroe Falls Boys Win Copley District Crown

will advance to the Division I boys regional basketball tournament for the first time since 2001 after beating Green, 57-36 in the District finals at Copley High School Saturday night.

Stow (21-2) advances to play Canton GlenOak Thursday at 7 p.m. at the University of Akron. GlenOak edged defending Division I champion Massillon Jackson, 63-59, to win the Canton district final.

"Our last two wins were at the buzzer," said Walker, Stow's 6-foot-6 junior guard. "This wasn't about revenge. This was the district championship game. We'll let them have the regular season win, we'll take this one." Green (Dec. 3) and Copley (Jan. 25) were the only teams to defeat Stow this season, both by six points.

The Bulldogs broke from a 6-6 tie with a 3-pointer from Walker with 2:11 left in the first quarter and never looked back, taking a 23-18 lead into the half behind nine of Walker's game-high 18.

In addition to Walker, 6-foot-8 senior forward Mike Garrison turned in a strong effort for the Stow, scoring 14 points and grabbing a game-high eight rebounds.

What separated the district finalists with the same nickname was the first two minutes of the third quarter when Stow raced out with a 9-0 run. Stow started the run with a basket by senior Michael Greenwell. It was followed by a 3-pointer from Walker, a pair of free throws from junior Kyle Scelza, who finished with nine points, and a lay up from senior Ryan Yurkschatt for a 32-18 edge. That run essentially closed out Green, which finished the year at 18-5 with the loss.

"They played outstanding defense and we didn't get too many good looks at the basket," explained Green coach Mark Kinsley, who was tagged with a technical foul with 4:12 left and his team trailing 43-27.

Yurkschatt's basket at the end of the 9-0 Stow run was the first of three in the period for the 6-foot-5 senior forward, who ended up with eight points.

The Stow lead grew to 38-23 before Green junior Andrew Pratt hit a 3-pointer with 1:35 left in the quarter. Neither team scored for the rest of the session, leaving Stow with a commanding 38-26 advantage. Pratt led the Green offense with 10 points and had four of Green's nine rebounds.

With Green limited to just 18 second half points, Pratt was able to score just two after the intermission.

It was more of the same in the fourth, as Green connected on just one field goal by Pratt to go with Green connecting on 8-of-10 free throws as a team.

Stow powered the ball inside, getting six layups from four different players in stretching the final margin to 21.

"The kids have had a heavy weight on their shoulders the last few games and tonight, they came out and executed our defensive game plan," said Stow coach Dave Close. "I was also pleased with the way they adjusted to their personnel."

The win was special to Close, who had the Bulldogs in the 2005 district finals against Hudson and lost 55-54.

"I promised the guys from that team part of the nets if we won and I will be sending it to them," said Close.