NEWS AND NOTES

Hit the road, Jack. Before they return home on January 2, the Irish will have made four of the longest road trips of the season since their last home game against Westerville South. Before heading out to the east side of Columbus to face Independence, the Irish traveled to Wooster to play North Canton Hoover, Westerville North and Westerville Central. The Mt. Vernon home game will be followed by a visit by league foe Olentangy Liberty (January 6) and a very short trip to Dublin Jerome (January 9) and a home game against Marysville (January 16).

How important are free throws? Very important. Once they took the lead against Westerville Central, the Irish made 8-9 free throws down the stretch to seal their hard fought, comeback road win against the Warhawks on December 23. In the home game against Westerville South earlier this season, the Irish missed 8 consecutive free throws and allowed the Wildcats to cut a 20 point deficit to 5 points in the fourth quarter.

It’s Alumni Night on January 2. The Irish will recognize basketball alumni at the next home game against Mt. Vernon. If you are an alum and haven’t been in touch with the program recently, please fill out the electronic form under the alumni listing tab and let our webmaster know how to get in touch with you.

Mt. Vernon a familiar opponent. Although the Irish and Yellow Jackets have never been in a league together, they have played every season since Scioto opened. The Irish lead the overall series 10-5, but the Yellow Jackets have stung the Irish in a couple of memorab le games. In the first ever game for Scioto, Mt. Vernon won 62-40 and they knocked the Irish out of the ranks of the unbeaten following 15 consecutive wins to start the 2006-07 season with a 54-52 victory at "The Hive." Last season, the teams met twice. Scioto visited "The Hive" again and pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 60-48 win. They met in the district semi-finals at the Fairgrounds Coliseum and the Irish escaped with a 55-52 overtime win.