BOYS

Without the big player upon which the Dublin Scioto High School boys basketball team relied heavily for two seasons, coach Tony Bisutti wasn't so shocked when the Irish didn't appear among the preseason favorites to win the OCC-Capital Division.

But he guesses many area coaches took notice of a 72-34 victory last Friday over league-favorite Franklin Heights on its home court.

"I would have to think when people opened the paper Saturday morning their eyes opened," said Bisutti, whose team improved to 3-0 overall with a 47-34 win last Saturday over visiting Worthington Kilbourne. "We're under the radar and we're just hanging there and that's fine with me."

Scioto might not be a secret much longer.

The Irish will face another team Friday that's expected to contend for the league title in Big Walnut, which improved to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the league with last Friday's 52-46 win over Watkins Memorial.

The Golden Eagles, like Scioto, feature an athletic lineup that thrives on an uptempo game.

Big Walnut is led by seniors Jason Almendinger (5-foot-10 guard) and James Storey (6-0 guard) and juniors Kenton Comstock (6-3 guard), Joey Reed (6-4 forward), Evan Walker (6-4 forward/center) and Anthony Zarcone (5-9 guard), who each are returning letterwinners. Comstock had 15 points and Almendinger finished with 14 against Watkins Memorial.

Guard Kelly Winter, who scored eight of his 14 points against Kilbourne in the first quarter, has been a crucial part of Scioto's new system that depends on pressure defense and a deep bench.

"The whole key is that we've been able to press with fresh legs," he said. "We want to get the game going up and down. When you're in there for your three or four minutes, you've got to give it your all."

Coaches have been rotating two groups -- one that features experience and another that can give the Irish an added dimension from 3-point range.

Sophomores David McKinley, Rainer Duzan, Bradley McDougald and Marco St. John already have earned a number of minutes off the bench along with senior Spenser Mooney.

"We're not 50-50 with the two groups," Bisutti said. "In the first two games, the second group really contributed. Against (Kilbourne), they just kind of hung in there with them, kept (the lead) where it was and bought us some minutes."

The Irish have been far from perfect so far, but they've been consistent. They expect to be contenders.

"I think this summer went really well, but we knew we were going to be underdogs," Winter said. "We knew after the coaches put in the new system that we were going to be successful."


Girls Basketball

The girls team is 2-0 in the OCC- Capital entering its game Friday against the only other unbeaten in the league.

Big Walnut has one of the top power forwards in the area in Summer Hale (5-11), who scored 23 in the 73-53 victory over Watkins Memorial last Friday as her team improved to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the league.

"She plays with a real passion, and when she's got the ball in her hand, she's looking to score," said coach Todd Hardesty, whose team improved to 4-0 overall with last Friday's 93-16 win over Franklin Heights. "She's averaging about 20 points per game."

Big Walnut's lineup also features Ariana Grimm (5-8), who with Hale last season combined to average 23.5 points and 19.1 rebounds.

The Golden Eagles won their next three after losing 64-61 to Westerville Central in the opener Nov. 25.

Scioto's unblemished record nearly disappeared in the 50-48 victory over New Albany on Dec. 5 in the opener. With the game tied at 48, sophomore guard Kesi Hess hit a layup with two seconds to play.

"The first half we were as ugly as we've been in quite a while," Hardesty said. "We were flat and going through the motions. The one thing we've been trying to tell our kids is that they've built a reputation and they have a target on their back."

Scioto struggled in a 40-37 win over Westerville Central in its league opener last season but went on to share the OCC-Cardinal championship at 9-1 with Pickerington Central.