IRISH BEAT BROOKHAVEN 56-40

It was hot and sticky at Brookhaven Wednesday night.

While a crowded gym made for a hot gym, it was solid Irish shooting and a sticky defense that led to a 56-40 victory in the final non-league game of the regular season.

The Irish used good ball movement that led to other good shooting nights. It resulted in 49 percent shooting for the game, including going 6-12 from beyond the arc. Seventeen of 24 Irish baskets were assisted. David McKinley led the way with seven assists. Bradley McDougald chipped in four and Rainer Duzan had three.

On the defensive end of the floor, the Irish held Brookhaven to 36 percent from the field, including 2-17 on three point attempts. Using a mix of man and zone defenses with extra help on 6-8 post Craig Sealey, the Irish forced the Bearcats to settle for perimeter shots. Sealey, who is averaging in double figures, only had 4 points on the night, all in the first quarter.

The Irish had 10 steals, led by Eric Stamets with 3. McDougald (2), McKinley (2), Duzan (1), Tyler Harrell (1) and Deji Olatoye (1) also had steals.

Scioto jumped out to a 22-16 lead at the end of the first quarter, fueled by 12 points scored by McDougald. He ended up scoring a game high 17 points.

The teams traded baskets in the first quarter, but it looked like the Irish were headed toward building a comfortable halftime lead following a buzzer beating trey by McKinley to end the first quarter and a transition bucket by Marco St. John to open the second gave them a 24-16 lead.

It was not to be though, as the Bearcats hit a trey and then traded baskets with the Irish for the rest of the half. Brookhaven stayed in the game by outscoring the Irish 18-14 on points in the paint, including four transition lay-ups following missed Irish shots, and by shooting 42 percent from the field. They also hit the glass hard in the first half, particularly on the offensive end of the floor.

The Irish turned up the heat on the Bearcats in the second half, holding them to 7-24 shooting overall and 1-13 beyond the three point line.

McDougald got things going in the second half with a lay-up assisted by McKinley. This started an 8-0 run to begin the third quarter capped by a put back bucket by Olatoye that gave the Irish a 39-25 lead. They stretched it out to 48-33 when Duzan hit St. John with a perfect bounce pass in transition.

Once they’d established the lead, Scioto was able to spread the floor and look for the best opportunity to score. All four Irish baskets in the fourth quarter were assisted. Stamets had a nice dish to Harrell off dribble penetration and McKinley found McDougald, Mills and St. John for buckets.

Brookhaven had a 31-30 advantage on the boards. Duzan and McDougald led the Irish with 6 rebounds apiece. McKinley and Olatoye were next with 4 apiece.

McDougald scored a game high 18 points for the Irish. McKinley was also in double figures with 11 points. Other Irish players who scored were: Olatoye (8), St. John (8), Duzan (5), Jamare Mills (4) and Harrell (2).

First-team Columbus City League selection Terrance Watkins had an all-around solid game with 14 points and 8 rebounds for the Bearcats. Roderick Macon was next with 8 points. Sealey had 7 rebounds.

Scioto is now 18-1 overall and 13-0 in OCC Cardinal playing heading into the league finale at Marysville on Friday. Brookhaven falls to 11-9 on the regular season and will begin sectional tournament play on Tuesday, February 24 against Groveport-Madison.