Basketball notebook: Once-beaten Scioto flies under radar

Defense is the calling card for Irish

Friday,  February 13, 2009 3:10 AM

By Steve Blackledge

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

With all the talk of top-ranked Northland and its lineup of college prospects, it's easy to forget that there's another one-loss Division I team in the area.

Seeking a third consecutive 19-1 regular season, Dublin Scioto (16-1) has 33 straight Ohio Capital Conference victories. And the Irish are getting it done with nary a potential college player.

"I think that kind of makes what we're achieving kind of special to this group of guys, because for a lot of them, this is their last hurrah -- in basketball at least," coach Tony Bisutti said.

Three of his seniors -- Bradley McDougald (Kansas), Deji Olatoye (Colorado) and Rainer Duzan (Morehead State) -- have signed to play college football.

Scioto is allowing opponents just 42.5 points per game. Only four have reached 50.

"I've had some pretty good defensive teams through the years, but I'd be hard-pressed to find a better one than this," Bisutti said.

"Our camaraderie and chemistry are our best assets on offense. We have football players who really like basketball and are determined to win. And their athletic ability has allowed us to do some different things."