STRYKER — Stryker’s boys basketball team put on a dominating showcase on Friday.
After Montpelier snagged a 6-2 lead early in the first quarter, the Panthers outscored the Locomotives 12-0 the final 6:05 of the frame and carried that momentum the rest of the contest to earn a 58-33 Buckeye Border Conference victory at Stryker High School.
Stryker (8-7, 4-0 BBC) shot a blistering 51 percent (23 of 45) from the floor with its inside-out game clicking (7 of 18 from 3-point range) and limited Montpelier (6-8, 2 -2) to 30 percent (15 of 50) shooting.
“Montpelier’s a quality opponent. They’re well coached by (Locos coach) Nick (Ramos), they’ve been playing well, so we were ultra focused this week knowing that we have to come in and be able to execute,” Panthers coach Tyler Woolace said. “(Improving to) 4-0 in the BBC is big, we need to keep it rolling. This is a big one for us to get because Montpelier, they were only one game back. We knew how bad they wanted it.
“I’m just proud of the way our guys started the game. They started hot defensively (six turnovers in first quarter) and offensively.”
Daniel Donovan rattled in five 3-pointers and snagged four rebounds in his game-high 19-point performance for the Panthers. Elijah Juillard, a 6-foot-6 senior, went to work in the paint for 18 points, seven rebounds and several blocks and steals off the bench.
Levi Barnum chipped in 11 points with three rebounds for Stryker and Jacob Cadwell (three rebounds) nailed two 3s in the second half for six points.
Garrett Walz tallied a team-high 14 points with five boards for the Locos. Jamison Grime scored six of his eight points in the fourth quarter and grabbed four rebounds, while Grant Girrell totaled six points and eight boards.
Stryker 58, Montpellier 33
Montpellier 6 9 8 10 — 33
Stryker 14 18 14 12 — 58
Montpelier: Walz 4-2 0-0-14, Grime 4-0-0-8, Girrell 3-0-0-3-6, Brink 2-0-0-0-4, Summer 0-0-1-2 1. Totals: 13-38 2-12 1-5 33.
Stryker: D. Donovan 1 5 2-2 19, Juillard 8 0 2-2 18, Barnum 5 0 1-1 11, Cadwell 0 2 0-0 6, M. Donovan 1 0 0-0 2, Villanueva 1 0 0 -0 2. Totals: 16-27 7-18 5-5 58.
Junior Varsity: Stryker 46-30.
