HOT IRISH 4TH QUARTER BREAKS ICE IN 52-43 WIN OVER WARHAWKS

Slick roads heading to and from Westerville Central on Tuesday were an indicator about how tough it can be on the road in the OCC Cardinal Division.

The Irish slid into the fourth quarter trailing 37-27, but avoided a crash by rallying for a 52-43 win over the Warhawks. The Irish extended their overall record to 5-1 and 4-0 in league play.

It was a treacherous start for Scioto as they tallied a single basket in the first quarter and trailed 11-3. Facing foul trouble and with a couple of players battling illness, the Irish cut the lead to two points at 15-13.

An 8-0 Warhawks run to end the second quarter sent the teams to the locker room with the Irish facing a 23-13 deficit. Cold shooting, a lack of ball movement and second chance points for the Warhawks were the recipe for the 10 point margin.

Heading into the final seconds of the third quarter the Irish trailed 37-24 and there was little indication that things were going to heat up any time soon. As the clock wound down, the Irish missed a shot in the lane. The ball rolled out to Bradley McDougald beyond the arc. The senior guard picked it up and dropped a trey at the buzzer to cut the lead to 37-27.

Fueled by a swarming defense and solid rebounding, the Irish rallied in the fourth quarter and took the lead for the first time at 38-37 when McDougald hit a driving bucket with 3:56 to go in the game.

Once they got ahead, five different Irish players hit free throws to build what became an insurmountable lead. McDougald got it going by hitting both ends of a 1+1 after being fouled on a defensive rebound.

Rainer Duzan hit both free throws after getting hammered going to the basket. Next to the line was Eric Stamets who split a pair of free throws after a steal and hard foul as he went in for a lay-up.

David McKinley hit both free throws to extend the lead to 45-37 with 1:24 to go and after a Stamets steal; Marco St. John had a traditional three point play to extend the lead to 48-37 with 1:10 to go.

From there, the Irish played the clock and escaped with the win.

In addition to the free throw shooting down the stretch, the Irish forced 18 Warhawks turnovers, fueled by 11 steals. Stamets led the way with 5.

McDougald scored a game high 20 points. Duzan had a solid overall performance with 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. Other Irish players in the scoring column were: McKinley (5), St. John (5), Stamets (5), Tyler Harrell (3) and Deji Olatoye (1). St. John led the way with 6 rebounds, while Duzan and McDougald had 3 assists apiece.

Senior guard Jerrell Fernandez led the Warhawks with 11 points. Junior post Max Van Meter was next with 9 points and a game high 8 rebounds. The Warhawks fall to 2-3 overall and 1-3 in the OCC Cardinal.

The Irish play their fourth consecutive game away from home when they visit Columbus Independence on Tuesday, December 30. The JV game will tip at 5:30 p.m. and the varsity game at around 7 PM.

They will return home for another non-league game against the Mt. Vernon Yellow Jackets on Friday, January 2.

UNOFFICIAL BOX SCORE

Scioto 3-10-14-25 52
Central 11-12-14-6 43

Scioto: McKinley 1-2-5, Stamets 0-5-5, Duzan 5-2-13, Olatoye 0-1-1, Harrell 1-1-3, St. John 2-1-5, McDougald 6-6-20 TEAM: 15-18-52. Three point goals: McKinley (1), Duzan (1), McDougald (2)

Central: Fernandez (11), Van Meter (9), Vannett (6), Devoll (5), Brown (3), Devereaux (3), Mayfield (2), Graves (2), Tucker (2). TEAM: 18-5-43. Three point goals: Fernandez (2)

SCORING BY QUARTERS

First: McKinley, 3

Second: Duzan, 4; Olatoye, 1; McDougald, 5

Third: Stamets, 3; Duzan, 5; Harrell, 1; McDougald, 5

Fourth: McKinley, 2; Stamets, 2; Duzan, 4; Harrell, 2; St. John, 5; McDougald 10