Basketball=
Ashwill settles into= new role for Scioto boys team

Thursday, December 6, 2007

SCOTT GERFEN<= /b>
Villager Contributor=

Scioto's Ben Ashwill tries to maneuver past Jerome Johnson of Franklin Heights last Friday during an OCC-Capital Divi= sion game. The host Irish won 74-37.

At a glanceBelow are the recent results and coming schedules for the Sc= ioto boys and girls basketball teams:

BOYS

*Last Friday -- Defeated Franklin Heights 74-37 in opener. Bradley McDougald led four Scioto players in double figures with 19 point= s.

Tuesday -- At Worthington Kilbourne

GIRLS

*Nov. 27 -- Lost to New Albany 64-55. Scioto failed to score= in the final two minutes. Brandi Gorniak led three Scioto players in double figures with 18 points.

*Last Friday -- Def. Franklin Heights 68-28. Kesi Hess score= d 21 and Lindsey Kell and Jamie O'Connell had 10.

Last Tuesday -- Played DeSales

*Friday -- Home vs. Big Walnut

Tuesday -- Home vs. Thomas Worthington

Of note: The Irish were 3-2 overall before last Tuesday and = are 1-1 in the OCC-Capital.

*OCC-Capital game

Throughout much of his career, Ben Ashwill has been somewhat o= f an outsider.

A third-year starter for the Dublin Scioto High School boys basketball team, the 6-foot senior guard always seemed to be on the floor w= ith the upperclassmen.

That division was even more pronounced last year when the Irish took advantage of their depth and utilized a platoon system in which five players would check in at the scorer's table at once. Ashwill played with t= he first group; the rest of the underclassmen came off the bench. <= /span>

"Over the summer, it was a little bit different at first,= but these guys are awesome and it wasn't awkward playing with them at all,"= ; he said. "I think I've fit right in. They accepted me and I'm ready for whatever role coaches want me to play."

Coach Tony Bisutti has been anxious to see how his new starting five, which includes Watterson transfer Kyle Duncan, will come together. For Ashwill, it's been more about not becoming the odd man out.

"We were kind of worried about him because it was almost = like he was a senior last year," Bisutti said. "But he's really become close to his senior class. They're all pretty tight and it's probably as go= od of chemistry that we've had here."

There no longer are two groups, just a single team of 12. And = the Irish looked like a strong unit in their opener last Friday, a 74-37 victory over OCC-Capital Division foe Franklin Heights.

"Last year, there was a definite division between the fir= st five and the second five," senior forward Blair Gorniak said. "Wi= th Ben, it was an easy integration. He's a great team player and I love playing with him."

Ashwill's role is much different this season. A year ago, when= he was named honorable mention all-league, he was more of a distributor. Coach= es this year are counting on him to be a mid-range scorer and develop an inside game.

"I think I've improved my jumper a lot and I'm better at driving to the hole," said Ashwill, who was one of four Irish players = in double figures last Friday with 14 points. "But we've got a lot of finishers on this team, so I'm still looking to distribute the ball, as well."

Ashwill has been described as a gym rat who loves to work on h= is game. A month ago, he took an elbow to the face in practice. He's been wear= ing a face-guard to protect his broken nose.

It only adds to his toughness.

"He played against a lot of good guards this summer and he played as well as any of them," Bisutti said. "He went head-to-he= ad with all the top dogs in Division I. I think he looked at all this as a challenge. He likes challenges and he certainly doesn't back down."

· The girls team retur= ns to OCC-Capital play Friday against visiting Big Walnut, one of the preseason favorites.

Scioto was 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the league before playing DeSales last Tuesday. Olentangy Liberty won its first two league games.

"I really think by the time this thing all plays out our league champion is going to have one or two losses," coach Todd Hardes= ty said. "But we really need to defend our home turf."

Big Walnut, which won 47 games the last three seasons combined, returns three letterwinners in seniors Kacie Collier (5-7 guard) and Natalie Conkle (6-1 post player) and junior Jessi Tutorow (5-8 guard). Conkle and Tutorow were starters a year ago. Conkle averaged 8.8 points and made honor= able mention all-district and Tutorow averaged 3.9 points.