IRISH JUMP ON MONARCHS EARLY IN 69-31 WIN

A quick start fueled by defensive pressure and getting the ball inside to frontcourt players led the Irish to a 69-31 OCC Cardinal victory over league foe Marysville.

Half of the Irish buckets in the 21-0 first quarter were assisted and two others came as a result of steals in the backcourt. Senior guard Bradley McDougald scored 9 on his game high 15 points in the first quarter.

Senior guard Destin Thomas hit the only long range shot of the quarter, a deep trey from the left wing on a kick out pass from Jamare Mills.

It was more of the same in the second quarter with five different Irish players scoring baskets inside or getting themselves to the free throw line. Senior guard David McKinley hit two consecutive treys in the quarter, both coming on post feeds from Mills. Always active senior wing Eric Stamets had a crowd pleasing blocked shot in front of the student section and pep band.

The Irish led 37-4 at the half with 8 of 10 varsity players hitting the scoring column. As a team, they were 10-11 at the free throw line in the first half.

In the second half, the Monarchs were able to put some points on the board with interior passing and a few timely made three pointers.

The Irish continued to spread the scoring around and in the fourth quarter several JV regulars saw extended varsity action, including Raneal Ewing who had a nice drive to the bucket and Jacob McPheters who hit a baseline trey just before the buzzer.

As noted, McDougald led all scorers with 15 points. The balanced Irish scoring attack included points from: Mills (10), McKinley (9), Tyler Harrell (7), Marco St. John (6), Deji Olatoye (5), Stamets (5), Rainer Duzan (4), McPheters (3), Thomas (3) and Ewing (2). Also seeing action were Jason Reinick, J.R. Bernans and Terrill Matthews.

The victory extends the varsity winning streak to 7 games heading into a match-up on Tuesday, January 20 at Columbus St. Charles. The Irish are 10-1 overall and 7-0 in OCC Cardinal Division play.

Unofficial Box Score

Marysville 0-04-14-13 31
Scioto 21-16-18-14 69

Marysville: Morris 4-0-11, Short 2-2-6, Waite 2-0-5, Romesburg 2-0-4, Devine 1-1-3, Coburn 1-0-2.
3-point goals: Morris 3, Waite.
Totals: 12-3-31.

Scioto: McDougald 5-5-15, Mills 4-2-10, McKinley 3-0-9, Harrell 3-1-7, St. John 2-2-6, Olatoye 2-1-5, Stamets 2-1-5, Duzan 0-4-4, McPheters 1-0-3, Thomas 1-0-3, Ewing 1-0-2.
3-point goals: McKinley 3, Thomas, McPheters.
Totals: 24-16-69.