FANTASTIC FINISH ENABLES IRISH TO WIN 65-64

In a game that will be remembered by players, coaches and fans of both teams for a long time, Bradley McDougald’s contested transition three at the buzzer earned the Irish a 65-64 victory over the Olentangy Braves at home on Friday night.

McDougald rebounded a missed Olentangy free throw with 4.4 seconds to go and drove the length of the floor for the shot. The buzzer sounded as the ball floated in the air and capped a game that was almost like a Hollywood movie in terms of twists and turns.

How unusual was this one? Well, only in the movies would a game have one team ahead by 24 points early, see it trailing by 7 points with 3:36 to go in the game and score a winning basket at the buzzer that gave the Zutti Zone student section cause to rush the floor and celebrate.

As it turned out, the script was written for Irish fans on this night, but the Braves were a worthy opponent who fought valiantly and deserved a better fate.

Scioto raced out to a 24-0 lead and Olentangy didn’t score until a put back by 6-7 Raphael Carter-Nowling in the waning seconds of the first quarter. The quick start was fueled by three pointers – four of them made by David McKinley and another by McDougald.

Yet the Braves played like a desperate, veteran team in search of a win to stay alive in the league race. This group of gritty players scratched back into the game in the second quarter by outscoring the Irish 22-15. Momentum had clearly swung in their favor.

They got it done on the strength of solid play by Carter-Nowling, wing Alex Tracy and forward Matt Huter. The trio scored a total of 21 points in the first half and they only trailed 39-24.

McKinley matched the Olentangy trio with 21 points in the half, as he tied the school record for made three pointers with 7. Other Irish players in the scoring column were Deji Olatoye (8), Jamare Mills (7) and McDougald (3).

Scioto still led 46-36 part way through the third quarter, but began to turn the ball over against Olentangy’s press. An active and supportive Braves cheering section helped fuel the rally when it seemed like everything the team shot was going in the basket. The Braves were 13-19 from the field in the second half, including 5-8 from beyond the three-point line.

When Tracy and senior guard Dayjon Baugh scored off steals the Braves only trailed 48-46. Tracy hit a floater in the final minute to give the Braves their first lead at 51-50. The score was tied at the end of the quarter after Marco St. John split a pair of free throws.

The Irish scored first in the final stanza, but the Braves went on a 10-1 run to move ahead 61-54 with 3:36 to go in the game. At this point, it looked like the Irish might lose on their home floor for the first time since a non-league loss to Columbus Brookhaven last season.

But, they began to feed the ball inside with enough success to score or get to the free throw line.

And, the Irish team defense caused six Olentangy turnovers in the last quarter. This helped key a rally that put them in a position to make it interesting at the end.

St. John got it going by splitting a pair of free throws. Olatoye stole the ball at midcourt and fed a streaking Eric Stamets for a lay-up that cut the lead to 61-57 with less than three minutes to go.

The Irish had consecutive steals in which they had an opportunity to cut further into the lead, but a pair of missed free throws and a turnover on what looked like an easy lay-up left the Braves with the ball and a four point lead with 1:46 to go.

McDougald split a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 61-58. He stole the ball and fed Olatoye who was fouled with 1:23 to go. He hit the first to cut the lead to 61-59. Olentangy rebounded the miss and after having a difficult time advancing the ball, they called time with 1:11 to go.

The intensity on the floor was matched by noise in the gymnasium – veteran Irish basketball observers said it was louder than anytime since the 2000-01 season when the Irish won the OCC Cardinal Division. It stayed that way for the rest of the game.

Olentangy spread the floor and proved able to avoid Irish traps until St. John had to foul Olentangy’s Mitchell Gerberd with 38.7 seconds to go. He canned both free throws for a 63-59 lead.

The Irish moved the ball around the perimeter trying to get an open trey, until McDougald took one from the top of the key that went off the right side of the rim.

Stamets, giving up six inches in height, found a way to snag the rebound from Carter-Nowling and fed Olatoye on the other side of the basket for an easy lay-up. This was a big play in terms of keeping the Irish alive and following the make, they called time with 22.8 seconds to go.

They pressured the inbound and McKinley was able to foul Baugh with less than two seconds going off the clock. The strategy worked as the front end of the 1+1 missed and the Irish rebounded with 21.0 seconds to go.

The Irish looked for a good shot from the perimeter, but as the clock wound down McKinley had to drive the lane. He missed a contested runner in heavy traffic, but Olatoye snared a rebound and was fouled with 6.5 seconds remaining.

He sank the first free throw to cut the lead to 63-62, but missed the second. McDougald quickly fouled Girberd following the rebound and the Braves headed to the line with 4.4 seconds to go.

Girberd hit nothing but the bottom of the net on the first free throw for a 64-62 lead.

The second attempt hit off the iron and McDougald raced down court. He avoided a steal at midcourt and put up the contested trey from the top of the key as the clock wound down to zero. The buzzer sounded as the ball floated in the air and the Zutti Zone stormed the floor to celebrate.

Scioto moves to 8-0 in OCC Cardinal play and stand 12-1 overall following the victory. There will be little time to savor this one, though, as they head to 7-1 Westerville South on Tuesday, January 27 with the league lead on the line.

The classy, hard working Braves fell to 3-5 in the OCC Cardinal and are 6-6 overall. They are a talented team who deserved a better fate on this night after scrambling back into the game. Expect them to make some noise during the remainder of the league season. They will be a tough out in the Central District tournament.

With the second half shooting performance, Olentangy ended up at 55 percent from the field for the game. They outrebounded the Irish 30-22.

The Irish shot 44 percent from the field in both halves. They were 15-25 at the free throw line, but only 8-17 in the second half.

Scioto had an advantage in the turnover battle with only 12 compared to Olentangy’s 20. The Irish had 11 steals, compared to the Braves’ 5.

Individually, McKinley led all scorers with 24 points – all coming on three-point field goals. He chipped in 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists and 0 turnovers. He also had a crucial tie-up of Carter-Nowling late in the fourth quarter when the Braves center was headed in for a lay-up in transition.

Olatoye was steady throughout with 18 points, scoring 4 in each of the first three quarters and 6 in the final quarter. He had team highs of 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists. St. John also had 3 assists for the Irish.

The game winner gave McDougald 11 points on the night and he chipped in 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Mills had 8 points, 3 rebounds and an assist. Also scoring for the Irish were St. John (2 points, 3 assists, 1 rebound) and Stamets (2 points, 2 steals, 1 rebound, 1 assist). Rainer Duzan did not score, but contributed 2 rebounds, 2 assists and steady defense.

Tracy led Olentangy with 19 points. Carter-Nowling had 16 points and a game high 9 rebounds. Other Braves who scored were: Baugh (12), Girberd (8), Matt Huter (6) and Newman (3).