Basketball

Irish boys not down despite slow start

Wednesday, December 16, 20= 09 2:12 PM

By SCOTT GERFEN

ThisWeek Contributor =

By Jeff Mills/ThisWeek

Scioto's Max Brundige grabs a rebound last Friday from Westerville South's Traevon Jackson. The Irish lost 80-50 to fall to 0-3 heading into Friday's home game against Westerville No= rth.

At a glance

Below are the recent results and coming schedules for the Scioto boys and girls basketball teams:=

BOYS

*Dec. 8 -- Lost to Olentangy 64-55. Antonio Bisutti scored 12 points off the bench and Jamare Mills added 11
*Last Friday -- Lost to Westerville South 80-50
*Friday -- Home vs. Westerville North
*Tuesday -- Home vs. Westerville Central

Of note: The Irish are 0-3 and 0= -2 in the OCC-Cardinal Division.

GIRLS

*Dec 8 -- Defeated Olentangy 46-42. Lindsey Kell led all scorers with 16 points.
*Last Friday -- Def. Westerville South 44-42. Kelly Flood made two free throws with 9.7 seconds left.
*Friday -- At Westerville North <= /li>
Saturday -- Home vs. Delaware
*Tuesday -- At Westerville Central

Of note: The Irish are 4-0 overa= ll and 2-0 in the OCC-Cardinal Division

*OCC-Cardinal game

With such a young team, Dublin Scioto High School boys basketball coach Tony Bisutti hoped the first few g= ames might provide an opportunity to gain some confidence heading into the meat = of the schedule.

Instead, the Irish, at 0-3 overa= ll and 0-2 in the OCC-Cardinal Division following last Friday's 80-50 defeat at Westerville South, realize they have much to do to become a competitive tea= m.

"Friday night was a major s= tep back for us," Bisutti said. "We're going to have to spend some ti= me this week in every which way you can imagine to figure out which direction we're going to go. We could spend the first half of the season trying to wo= rk through that. Hopefully, at some point it will start to mesh."

In trying to figure it all out, Scioto has experimented with just about everything with its only returning starter junior Jamare Mills (6-foot-5) in the middle.

The coaching staff intends to tr= y to simplify things.

"We've got to keep working = and stay positive," Mills said. "It's probably tough for guys who've = been part of the program to see us at 0-3, but its motivation for us to get bett= er. We certainly want to have a winning record."

Scioto is host to an undefeated Westerville North team Friday which features plenty of experience, including four-year starter Ralph Hill, a 6-6 post player who averaged 19 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.1 blocks and 1.5 assists last season.

The University of Dayton recruit= was honorable mention all-district.

Senior Brad Nettles (5-10), who averaged 9.3 points, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals last season, also is back at point guard.

"We have major matchup prob= lems with them," Bisutti said. "They've got a couple of big guys, and = it's going to be a major challenge trying to guard them and rebound. But rebound= ing was an area where we were pretty solid in our first two games."

Scioto's 35-game win streak in t= he OCC ended with the 64-55 loss to Olentangy on Dec. 8.

The Braves took the lead in the second quarter by outscoring the Irish 19-6.

"We started off pretty well, but they pressed us and we got into some trouble," said Mills, who finished with 11 points against Olentangy. "We seemed a little intimidated. Turnovers have certainly been a problem."

Bisutti's son, Antonio (6-0 fres= hman guard) came off the bench with a team-high 12 points.

In the opener against Worthington Kilbourne on Dec. 5, the Irish led 38-28 midway through the third quarter before the Wolves went on a 15-0 run and came away with a 51-47 victory.

Scioto went six minutes without scoring and missed five layups.

"The tough part in all of t= his is our schedule," coach Bisutti said. "We had two winnable games = and we didn't get them. Now, we're going into a difficult stretch. We're just looking at trying to make some progress."

The Irish will be host to Westerville Central on Tuesday before playing in the Columbus Christmas Cla= ssic at Gahanna on Dec. 29 and Dec. 31, where it meets Cedar Grove (Atlanta, Ga.) and Urspring Academy, a team from Germany.