The freshman team was back in action following the holiday break with a pair of home games versus the Thomas Worthington Cardinals and Pickerington Central Tigers.

The Irish split the number of quarters won equally, but fell 46-30 to the Tigers on January 5. They jumped out to a 9-8 first quarter lead on the strength of six points by David McKinley.

The Tigers opened the second quarter with a solid pressing defense and utilized dribble penetration in the half court offense to take a lead they would never relinquish. They netted 20 points in the quarter and took a 28-16 lead to the locker room at the half.

In the third quarter, both teams tightened up the defense and the Irish outscored the Tigers 8-7 to reduce the deficit to 35-24. Marco St. John led the way with five points -- including a traditional three-point play.

The fourth quarter was won 11-6 by the Tigers,which led to the final score of 46-30.

In addition to McKinley, Dylan Coscia and Jason Tiemeier led the Irish with 6 points apiece.

Tiemeier played aggressively in the post, securing numerous rebounds and taking a charge in the first quarter.

Other Irish in the scoring column were: St. John, 5; Jordan Garner, 2; Bradley McDougald, 2; Nate Innis, 1; and, Jarod Nawrocki, 1.

Earlier in the week, the Irish entertained the Thomas Worthington Cardinals and fell by a final score of 53-31.

Both teams tallied double digits in the first quarter and the Cards led 22-13. They added to the lead in the second quarter and the teams went to the locker room with a 33-18 score. The Irish and Cards tightened the defense a bit in the second half, allowing a total of 20 and 13 points, respectively.

Dylan Coscia led Scioto with 17 points and Brandon Brown chipped in eight. Other Irish in the scoring column were Jason Tiemeier (3), Mike Henderson (2) and Ryan Adams (1).

The Irish have a single game next week -- making the long trek to Ross County to take on the Chillicothe Cavaliers on January 12.