Raneal Ewing of the Dublin Scioto High School boys basketball team admits he's tried to forget about the shooting woes that bothered the Irish during a recent four-game losing streak.
As the leading scorer for the Irish, averaging 14.6 points through nine games, the senior guard is ready for others to pitch in.
"The past is the past, and we've got a lot more games ahead of us," Ewing said. "We've got a league game Friday against (Dublin) Jerome and they're our rival, so we've got to bounce back."
The Irish snapped the losing streak with a 51-37 victory at Athens on Dec. 30. The streak included losses to Westerville South (65-39 on Dec. 10), Westerville North (61-40 on Dec. 17) and Westerville Central (56-43 on Dec. 21) - all league opponents.
The Irish had chances to pull out a win in the final minutes against Buckeye Valley on Dec. 29 in the Larry Eberst Classic at Olentangy Liberty but lost 46-43.
"With young guys there comes inconsistency and that's what we have right now," coach Tony Bisutti said.
"Our guys know it, and we're trying to address it. It's not going to happen overnight. Our defense is a lot better, but we're not shooting it (well)."
The loss of Jamare Mills only has added to Scioto's offensive woes.
Mills' mother informed coaches that her son was leaving the team to focus on academics and football. The 6-foot-5 tight end and defensive lineman is being recruited by a number of Division I programs.
Senior Jalen Johnson, who also is 6-5, has been starting in place of Mills.
"We went through a drought where people were having down games," senior guard Justin Craig said. "It's real important this week for us to get some momentum. Jerome is a big game for us. They beat us twice last year and got us real good."
Jerome defeated Scioto 75-32 and 66-44 last season.
Junior guards Cam Wilson (6-2) and Nick Neale (6-3) have been the scoring leaders for the Celtics, who also lost four in row in December.
"They're a little bit like us in that they're not very post-oriented," Bisutti said.
"They've struggled, but they've always played us pretty tough. We're going to have to play smarter against them than we have in the past."
•The girls team continues to perplex opposing offenses. Through nine games, the Irish had allowed only 42.3 points per contest.
Scioto defeated New Albany 43-39 on Dec. 23 and DeSales by the same score on Dec. 27.
"We're just outplaying people," coach Matt Fisher said. "They're being patient and letting things happen."
AT A GLANCE
Below are the recent results and coming schedules for the Scioto boys and girls basketball teams:
BOYS
*Dec. 21 - Lost to Westerville Central 56-43
Dec. 29 - Lost to Buckeye Valley 49-46
Dec. 30 - Defeated Athens 51-37
*Last Monday - Lost to Olentangy Liberty 52-45
*Friday - At Dublin Jerome
Of note: The Irish are 3-5 overall and 1-4 in the OCC-Cardinal.