IRISH FACE DEFENDING STATE CHAMPS NEWARK NEXT

In what promises to be an entertaining match-up the Irish will take on defending Division I state champion Newark at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Fairgrounds Coliseum.

The Wildcats enter this contest with an impressive 20-3 record and OCC Ohio Division co-championship. Two of their three losses came to district finalists Grove City and Westerville North and none have been by more than 3 points.

They are coming in on a roll have won seven games in a row. Five of the last six have been decided by double digits. They beat #7 seed Upper Arlington 75-66 last Saturday afternoon, but led by double digits until a late barrage of three pointers by the Bears.

The Wildcats return two starters from last year’s state champions. 5-10 Point guard Cody Dennison is a jack of all trades and master of many. He has a nice floater in the lane, knocks down contested long range shots and is an outstanding distributor who rarely turns the ball over. He rarely comes off the floor and gets everyone involved in Newark’s balanced attack.

6-0 guard Rahlin Watson is an outstanding slasher and on-ball defender. The Wildcats spread the floor against UA in the second half and on more than one occasion he was able to beat his man to basket off the dribble for a lay-up.

Dennison has started at point guard since his freshman year and Watson joined the lineup as a sophomore. Both seniors have played important roles on consecutive district championship teams.

They are joined by 5-11 guard Ryan Dierks, a junior who was an impact player at Licking Valley last season. He is a very good three point shooter and finds his way to the free throw line where he shoots around 90 percent. Last season, he set a state record for consecutive made free throws. Other starters in the rotation are 6-4 forward Shaun O’Keefe and 6-3 forward Taylor Huffman. Both seniors can score inside and outside. 6-3 junior James Kurzawa has earned more playing time late in the season.

Newark is led by veteran coach Jeff Quackenbush who is in his 10th year at the helm. He is a former Wildcats basketball star and most of his staff played for the school as well.