IRISH DEFENSE WRAPS-UP REYNOLDSBURG

A tough Irish man-to-man defense held Reynoldsburg to 7 first half points and allowed the Irish to control the game from start to finish in a 50-38 district semi-final victory at the Fairgrounds Coliseum.

The win gives the Irish an opportunity to claim a second consecutive district championship against defending Division I state champion Newark at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 14.

Newark, the #4 seed and OCC-Ohio Division co-champion, advanced with a solid 75-66 win over #7 Upper Arlington. Pre-sale ticket information will be posted on this website later in the week.

Against Reynoldsburg, Scioto jumped out to a 14-3 first quarter lead and held the Raiders to 11 percent shooting in the first half. First team OCC-Ohio guard Kevin Gray was held scoreless in the first half due to outstanding primary defense by Bradley McDougald and Eric Stamets. Help defense also played a role in keeping Reynoldsburg off the scoreboard as well.

The Irish hit a scoring lull in the second quarter and turned the ball over on the first two possessions of the second half. This enabled Reynoldsburg to cut a 20-7 lead to single digits.

However, whenever Reynoldsburg looked they like might make a run to close the gap further, Rainer Duzan would calmly sink a trey to extend the lead. He nailed three of them in the third quarter and another in the fourth which helped him score a game high 15 points. All of his points came on made treys.

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Irish led 36-26 and left no doubt with a 9-3 run that gave them a 45-29 lead with just a few minutes to go.

Duzan was the only Irish player in double figures. David McKinley chipped in 9 points, all on made treys in the first half. Other Irish scorers were: McDougald (7), Deji Olatoye (6), Jamare Mills (6), Stamets (5) and Marco St. John (2).

Unofficial rebounding leaders were Olatoye (6), Stamets (5) and St. John (4). Tyler Harrell had a couple big defensive rebounds in the second half. Seven different Irish players had assists, led by McKinley (3). McDougald, Mills and St. John had 2 apiece. St. John led the way with three steals.

Gray was the leading scoring for Reynoldsburg with 13 second half points. Senior forward Reggie Walls netted 12 points and led the Raiders with rebounds.