An up tempo Grove City Greyhounds freshman team took control in the second quarter and posted a 44-32 win over the Irish on Saturday morning.
Scioto got off to a quick start and 4-0 lead by showing good ball movement and sound defense. Spencer Talentino got the Irish on the board with a nice feed from Matthew Messick.
The lead was short-lived as the Irish turned the ball over four straight times and coupled with a couple missed shots allowed Grove City to go on a 12-2. The Irish righted themselves and scored the last 7 points of the quarter to take a 13-12 lead.
In the second quarter, the Irish had many unforced turnovers and failed to get back on defense after a couple made baskets. The Greyhounds turned this into a 13-5 advantage and led 25-18 at the half.
As they did in the first quarter, the Irish got off to a quick start after halftime when Jack Flood scored on a layup assisted by Talentino. Andrew McKinley followed with a trey assisted by Darius McDonald the Irish only trailed 25-23. However, an unlucky bounce off a missed shot led to a Greyhounds trey and three straight Irish turnovers followed. Grove City outscored the Irish 8-2 over the last five minutes of the quarter and led 33-25 after three.
The Irish tried to force the ball inside and didn't move the ball on offense, leading to three more turnovers which the Greyhounds converted into 5 straight points and a 38-25 lead. The string was broken when McKinley hit both ends of the 1+1 with 3:47 to go in the game.
After McKinley hit a long trey with 3:01 to go, Grove City called time with a 38-30 lead. The Greyhounds spread the floor and the Irish were unable to generate enough defensive pressure to force turnovers.
Flood led the Irish with 12 points ? 10 coming in the first half. McKinley also reached double figures with 10 points, including all 7 the Irish scored in the fourth quarter. Brady Blackwell (4), Talentino (4) and Messick (2) also scored for the Irish.
The freshmen fall to 3-7 at the halfway point of the season and will be in action next on Tuesday, January 18 at Bexley. They return home on Friday, January 21 to host Olentangy.