IRISH TAKE CARE OF BALL, BUSINESS

Squaring off against a defensive-minded and slower tempo Westerville North team, a patient Irish team was able to pull away in the second half and post a 51-34 home win on Friday night.

Although the Irish shot less than 40 percent from the field for the game, they turned the ball over only 4 times and held a 13-1 advantage in offensive rebounds. This led to a 26-10 points in the paint advantage.

Westerville North shot a higher percentage from the field than the Irish, but turned it over 17 times and only made 5-14 shots from the field in the second half. Until the final minute of play, only 6-6 forward Ralph Hill Jr. had scored in the second half for the Warriors.

The Irish jumped out to a 17-7 first quarter lead by scoring six baskets and two free throws. Five of the baskets were assisted and three came from beyond the three-point line.

Two consecutive Irish turnovers led to a lay-up and a Hill dunk early in the second quarter, and, the Warriors cut the lead to 17-11. The teams traded baskets and as the half approached the Irish led 23-18.

Senior wing Eric Stamets came up with two consecutive steals to swing momentum toward the Irish. On the first he quickly went in for a lay-up. On the second he went up for a dunk, but was fouled hard by Hill and missed. He split the free throws for a 26-18 lead the Irish took to the locker room.

Three minutes into the third quarter, David McKinley fed Marco St. John on the low block and he scored on a very nice up and under bucket that extended the lead to 32-20.

Hill, who led all scorers with 21 points, went on a 6-0 run of his own to cut the lead to 32-26 with less than four minutes to go in the quarter. He hit a pair of free throws, a deep trey from the left wing and split a pair of free throws.

Scioto then re-asserted itself with its own 7-0 run to close the quarter. Bradley McDougald went coast-to-coast after the missed free throw and St. John had another put back after Jamare Mills took a charge on the defensive end. Mills capped the run with a traditional three point play after the Irish spread the floor.

In the fourth quarter, the Warriors tried to apply pressure after made baskets with a zone press and used a 1-2-2 trapping defense with the 6-6 Hill out top in the half court. Neither approach was effective, and, the Irish were able to spread the floor and run clock. This forced the Warriors to foul and the Irish went 10-12 from the line in the quarter. The only Irish basket came on dribble penetration and a dish to Deji Olatoye.

The win moves the Irish to 10-0 in the Ohio Capital Conference Cardinal Division and 14-1 overall heading into a February 3 match-up with Westerville Central. The Warhawks are 10-4 overall and 6-4 in league play. Westerville North falls to 5-5 in league play and 7-5 overall.

Leading the way in scoring for the Irish was McDougald with 15 points, including 6-7 from the charity stripe. He also had 3 steals. Olatoye was next with 9 points.

St. John had 8 points and a game high 7 rebounds, including 5 on the offensive glass. Mills had 5 points and 5 rebounds. McKinley chipped in 5 points and a team high 3 assists to go with 3 rebounds. Rainer Duzan had 3 points and 2 assists, while Stamets had 3 points and 2 steals. Tyler Harrell scored 2 and Destin Thomas 1 point to round out the scoring.

Hill led the Warriors with a game high 21 points. Jacob Thuman chipped in 6 and Bradley Nettles 4 in the first half. Kenny DeBoer hit a trey late in the game for Westerville North’s only other points.