With no truly dominant team in the OCC, it can't be said that the Dublin Scioto High School boys basketball team hasn't been in its share of close games.

The trouble for the young Irish is they can't seem to come out on top when the game is on the line. Their five losses have been by a combined 18 points, with none worse than five.

"Close games are tough to lose, but you learn from them," said post player Clark Crum, who is averaging a team-best 17 points.

"Eventually, you catch up and you win some of those games. Not many of us have played a full varsity season, so it just comes down to experience. We have the talent. The more we play, the better we're going to get."

Scioto endured what may have been its most devastating setback last Friday, 51-50 at Chillicothe. Anthony Hitchens of the Cavaliers made a 3-pointer to give his team the lead with 3.5 seconds to play. The Irish blew a 12-point lead in the second half and committed 16 turnovers.

"It really comes down to us executing late and putting ourselves in position to win," said coach Tony Bisutti, whose team will play Friday at league-rival Westerville Central. "The games we've lost we've put ourselves in position to lose. At times we haven't defended well, but mistakes can add up and do you in."

Guard Kelly Winter, a junior in his first season on varsity, has found it difficult to forget about what could've been.

"We come up with wins in some of those close games and instead of 7-5 we might be 9-3," he said. "It's disheartening. You know you could've won some of those games. The next day in practice we just try to come out and forget about it."

The Irish seemed to do the right things last Saturday in a 48-40 win over Hilliard Darby. They held the Panthers scoreless for nearly five minutes and took a 7-0 lead. But Darby got to within 18-16 at halftime and tied the game at 34 in the fourth quarter.

Scioto put the game away at the foul line as Crum, who finished with 21 points, made eight of nine free throws. The team outscored the Panthers 23-7 at the foul line.

"It's been the 'ifs' and 'buts' game, but now we're just going to try and focus on going 15-5," Bisutti said. "It's about winning the next one. The experiences are just mounting up with close games, and somebody's going to come out of this district that nobody's going to expect."