IRISH CLAIM OUTRIGHT OCC TITLE ON SENIOR NIGHT

Using a recipe that has become typical this season, the Irish mixed outstanding perimeter defense with sharing the ball on offense and rebounded well on their way to a 54-35 OCC Cardinal Division win over Dublin Jerome.

The victory clinched Scioto’s third consecutive outright OCC title and came on Senior Night in which 9 players and 3 cheerleaders were honored. It also extended Scioto’s league winning streak to 34 consecutive games heading into next Friday’s finale at Marysville.

Six Irish players tied for the team lead in assists with 2 apiece – Rainer Duzan, Bradley McDougald, David McKinley, Jamare Mills, Deji Olatoye and Eric Stamets. Marco St. John also had an assist. The Irish had a 13-6 advantage in this category.

Stamets – who turned in an all around solid game -- led the way with 5 rebounds and six other players joined him in hitting the boards. They were: Duzan (4), St. John (4), McDougald (3), Mills (3), Olatoye (3) and McKinley (2).

Six different players had steals, led by McDougald, St. John and Stamets with 2 apiece. McKinley, Olatoye and Mills each had one.

McDougald (16) and St. John (11) led the way in the scoring column. They were followed by McKinley (8), Olatoye (7), Stamets (7), and Duzan (5). Playing, but not scoring on this night were Mills, Jason Reinick, Destin Thomas and Max Brundige. Senior Tyler Harrell was out due to illness, but is expected back next week.

Scioto jumped out to a 14-5 first quarter lead and never looked back. McDougald scored more than half of his points in the first quarter with 9. They quickly stretched the lead to 20-7 and Jerome called time after McKinley hit a streaking Marco St. John with a perfect bounce pass in transition for a lay-up.

The Irish continued to defend well and took a 31-13 lead to the locker room at the half. They were 8-8 at the free throw line in the first half and shot 50 percent from the field. Jerome, in contrast, shot only 33 percent from the field and was 1-2 at the line. Scioto outrebounded the Celtics 13-6 and forced 11 turnovers.

They stretched the lead to 20 points during the third quarter, but two turnovers at the end of the third quarter and another to begin the fourth were converted into points by the Celtics allowed them to cut the lead to 13 points. The Irish steadied themselves and closed the game 14-8 for the victory.

Jerome spent most of the game in a 2-3 zone. Rather than pull the ball out and force the Celtics to play man, the Irish worked on their zone offense. This contributed to the balanced assist and scoring totals, as they moved the ball well inside and out looking for the best possible shot. The Irish finished the game shooting 51 percent from the field and 44 percent from beyond the three point line.

They continued to defend well and held Jerome to 38 percent from the field in the second half, including 1-10 from beyond the arc.

Jerome was missing its leading scorer Stephen Harrell due to injury. Freshman guard Cameron Wilson lead the Celtics with 12 points. Chipping in 6 apiece were Neil Johnson, Jake Martin and Nick Neale. Johnson had game high 6 rebounds and also had 4 blocked shots.

The victory gives the Irish a 17-1 overall record and 13-0 league slate heading into a non-league game at Columbus Brookhaven on Wednesday and into next Friday’s regular season finale at Marysville.

Jerome falls to 3-10 in the Cardinal Division and 4-14 overall. They play Columbus Watterson on Tuesday and close the regular season at home against Westerville Central.

Immediately following the game, the Irish cut down the net on the home end of the floor in celebration of the league championship. Congratulations to players and coaches at all levels of the program for continuing a tradition of excellence.