IRISH, RAIDERS TO BATTLE FOR DISTRICT FINAL BERTH

Reynoldsburg and Scioto are familiar opponents for their respective coaching staffs, but the last time these teams met with something on the line the seniors on both squads were in 5th grade.

The teams face one another in what promises to be a very good match-up between the #2 Irish and #10 Raiders at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday, March 7 at the Fairgrounds Coliseum in the district semi-finals. At stake is the opportunity to face either #4 Newark or #7 Upper Arlington in a district final on March 14. The Newark/UA game will be played at 2 p.m. as part of a doubleheader.

Pre-sale tickets are available through the Irish Athletic Department for $6 and can be purchased from 7:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. A portion of pre-game ticket sales revenue stays with the Scioto athletic department, so fans are encouraged to purchase them through the school.

Although they haven’t met one another since the Raiders earned a tie with the Irish for the OCC Cardinal Division championship in 2002 with a 47-44 win at Scioto, the teams typically scrimmage one another at least once during the pre-season. In games that count the series is tied 7-7, but the teams have never met in the post season.

Reynoldsburg comes into this game with a 14-8 record and some momentum after sectional tournament wins over Columbus St. Charles (63-53) and Columbus Walnut Ridge (62-51). They play in the rugged OCC Ohio Division that has four district semi-final entrants. In addition to the Raiders, #3 Grove City, #4 Newark and #9 Gahanna Lincoln are still playing.

Veteran Raiders skipper Chris Rider is in his 12th season and comes into this match-up with a career record of 260-113. His 2005-06 team earned a Division I district championship.

The team is led on the court by 5-10 junior combo guard Kevin Gray. He was a first team all-OCC selection this season and rang up 30 points against Walnut Ridge. He is physically strong and has great acceleration. He is equally adept at shooting from the perimeter and attacking the basket. He has drawn interest from several mid-major schools, including the University of Akron of the Mid-American Conference.

He is joined by a seasoned pair of big, strong frontcourt players in second team all-OCC honoree Reggie Walls and Deon Melson. They are joined in the starting lineup by OCC honorable mention Vaughn Spaulding, who also earned scholar-athlete recognition, and Brandon Rushton.

Known for playing man defense and keeping things up tempo, the Raiders used a zone defense down the stretch and superior rebounding to pull away from Walnut Ridge in the fourth quarter.

Scioto is playing in its 7th consecutive district semi-final following an 88-40 sectional final win over Columbus West on Saturday, February 28.