Boys Basketball
Team chemistry key to Scioto's success

Thursday, March 20, = 2008

SCOTT GERFEN
Villager Contributor=

By the end of the regular season, the Dublin Scioto High Schoo= l boys basketball team locker room looked more like an emergency room.

Nobody knew when the team's senior leader, point guard Ben Ashwill, would return after suffering an injury in a 57-49 loss to Brookhav= en on Feb. 5. Even starting senior forward Blair Gorniak<= /span> was bothered by a sore ankle.

Coach Tony Bisutti didn't know wha= t to expect from his second-seeded and once-beaten Irish as they entered the Division I district tournament.

He watched them make history.

"The regular season just seems like light years ago, and I think it was because of what we had to endure heading into the tournament," Bisutti said. "Without o= ur bond and team chemistry, I don't know that we would've persevered through a= ll that."

Scioto produced a memorable run through the postseason that included the program's first district championship after a 61-44 victory in= a rematch with fifth-seeded Brookhaven on March 1.

A week later Westerville South pulled off a 55-49 upset in a regional semifinal to end Scioto's season at 22-2 overall.

The Irish a year ago entered the tournament with one loss and = fell to Upper Arlington 53-47 in a district semifinal.

"Unlike last year, we were a tight-knit group and I really think that carried onto the court," said Ashwill, who was the OCC-Capi= tal Division Player of the Year and honorable mention all-state. "I know w= e're going to remember that district championship game forever."

The tournament opened with a 64-49 win over Westland on Feb. 16 ahead of a 55-52 overtime victory over Mount Vernon in a district semifinal Feb. 23.

In three seasons, the Irish have won 22 consecutive league gam= es, including a pair of undefeated championships in the OCC-Capital. At 10-0, Scioto finished ahead of New Albany (7-3), Olentangy Liberty (6-4), Big Walnut (5-5), Franklin Heights (1-9) and Watkins Memorial (1-9). Its average margin of victory in the league was nearly 25 points.

"We know it wasn't a strong division, but we had a target= on our back and got everybody's best shot," said Ashwill, who averaged 12= .5 points during the regular season with 117 assists and a team-best 55 steals. "We had to be ready to play every game and it took a lot of focus to p= ut it together every Friday."

The Irish also won the battles of Dublin with victories over Coffman (51-31 on Dec. 29) and Jerome (72-42 on Dec. 27).

Along with Ashwill (second-team all-district) and Gorniak (third-team all-district, first-team all-leag= ue), starting forward Kyle Duncan, a Watterson transfer, is among the seniors. <= o:p>

= Gorniak averaged a little more than 12 points during the regular seas= on with a team-best 137 rebounds. Duncan (honorable mention all-league) was one of = the top 3-point shooters (43.7 percent) behind Ashwill (52.8 percent).

"Ben was the only four-year participant in this class, and coming into the season it was a big concern for me about how he'd play with some of the younger guys," said Bisutti, t= he OCC-Capital Coach of the Year. "As a three-year starter, he played with the class ahead of him. But there wasn't any division among this group and = Ben was kind of the catalyst for all of that."

Scioto shouldn't be without a leader next season with the expe= cted return of junior forward Bradley McDougald (hon= orable mention all-district, first-team all-league), who averaged 14.7 points and = had a team-best 17 blocks.

Other contributions came from juniors Marco St. John (second-t= eam all-league), who averaged 9.0 points, Deji Olatoye, David McKinley and Rainer Duzan.

"The cupboard certainly isn't bare," Bisutti said.

"We're going to lose three pretty big guys, but we gradua= ted a fair amount last season and other guys stepped up."