Division I
Westerville= South 55, Dublin Scioto 49

Westerville South 20 15 8 12 — 55
Dublin Scioto 19 7 9 14 — 49

WS: Fletcher 7-2-20, Robbins 1-0-3, Maze 0-2-2, Jabbie 1-0-2, Jackson 1-2-4, Harrington 4-3-11, Davis 5-0-13. 3-point goals: Fletcher 4, Davis 3, Robbins. Totals: 19-9-55.=
DS: McKinley 4-2-12, Gorniak 5-2-12, Duncan 4-2-12, Ashwill 2-2-6, McDougald 2-1-7. 3-point goals: McDougald 2, McKinley 2, Duncan 2. Totals: 17-9-49.
Boys basketball: Patience, poise key for Westerville South

Friday, March 7, 2008 3:22 AM

ERIC ALBRECHT dispatchJason Davis of
Westerville South and Ben Ashwill of
Dublin Scioto chase a loose ball during
= &nb= sp; the first half.

Six of Westerville South's core players would be eligible fo= r a 6-feet-and-under league, but a lineup heavy with guards is a luxury when protecting a lead.

Those guards showed poise and made wise decisions in the second half last night to hold off Dublin Scioto 55-49 in a Division I regional semifinal in the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum.<= /span>

"Our guard play is very, very good, a= nd those guys did a great job making plays with the game on the line," Westerville South coach Ed Calo said. "We have a lot of playmakers and= I have confidence in any of those guys."

Winner of eight straight games, Westerville South (18-7) will play Newark (21-4) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday with a spot in t= he state tournament on the line. It marks the furthest advancement for Westerv= ille South.

Meshing excellent perimeter shooting, unselfish passing and strong dribble-drive moves, the Wildcats used a 10-0 = run to take a 12-point lead in the third quarter.

From there, Westerville South slowed the p= ace and waited for one-on-one opportunities. Some of its possessions lasted more than a minute.

"Well, that wasn't the plan," Ca= lo said, chuckling. "We really wanted to push the ball up the floor, but = to the kids' credit, more often than not they pulled it out and made the smart decision instead of putting up a bad shot."

Scioto (22-2) played stronger defense in t= he second half to keep the game close. Back-to-back three-point shots by Kyle Duncan cut the deficit to 47-45 with 3:27 remaining. Ben Ashwill capped a 1= 0-0 Irish run with two free throws to tie it with 1:35 to go.=

Westerville South called timeout and desig= ned a play for Jason Davis, who made a spin move at the top of the key and hit a 15-foot jump shot for the lead.

"It was a set play for me to attack t= he basket," Davis said. "Anyone could have taken it, but coach calle= d my number and I was ready to deliver."

Calo pointed to that as being the pivotal = play of the contest.

"They had some momentum going, but I = told the guys during the timeout that we were one offensive play and one defensi= ve play away from getting it back," he said.

He got his wish on defense when Ashwill ru= shed a 15-foot jumper. Scioto made four turnovers and went 0 of 3 in the final 1= :30.

Westerville South made 6 of 7 free throws = in the final 32.5 seconds to seal the outcome.

Duncan, Blair Gorniak and David McKinley scored 12 points each for the Irish, who went 17 of 47 from the field and w= ere outrebounded 31-24.

"The story of the night was we rushed things," Scioto coach Tony Bisutti said. "Our patience was not go= od at all."

Michael Fletcher had 20 points to lead Westerville South.

sblackledg= e@dispatch.com