Nick Nakasian and Kal Jayaraman hit clutch threes and Ben Roderick added a three-point play the old-fashioned way to give the Olentangy Liberty boys basketball team a 55-50 fourth-quarter lead it parlayed into a 64-53 OCC win over visiting Olentangy Friday night in Powell.
The game was tied at 46 heading into the final eight minutes of action.
Sean Marks did his best to keep the Braves (5-5, 2-3) within striking distance — going 4-for-4 at the line before hitting his team’s only field goal in the fourth to cap a 36-point performance — but the Patriots (10-2, 5-0) didn’t allow much else in the game-clinching quarter. Luke Riedel split a pair of free throws to make it 57-51 with a couple minutes to go, but that was as close as Olentangy would get.
Nakasian, who finished with 17 points in the win, answered with a hoop on Liberty’s ensuing possession. After that, Roderick, who had a team-best 31 points, went 5-for-6 at the stripe in the final minutes to seal the deal.
Delaware Hayes 59, Olentangy Berlin 39
The Bears hung around early, leading 12-8 after the first quarter and 26-23 at halftime, but the host Pacers won the third 23-6 to take control on the way to a league win Friday night in Delaware.
Terin Kinsway led what was a balanced offensive attack for Hayes (8-3, 5-2), finishing with 18 points (seven in the third quarter) and 11 rebounds. Paul Burris added 15 and Nate Griggs had 12.
“We are a blue-collar city and we are going to have a blue-collar basketball team,” Hayes coach Jordan Blackburn said. “We are going to play really hard and we are going to play together. Tuesday night, we didn’t meet the standard. Tonight, we didn’t play well, but our kids played hard.”
Grant Schrieber led Berlin (1-11, 0-7) with 14 points in the setback.
Big Walnut 51, Groveport 49, OT
Kegan Hienton poured in a game-high 22 points to lead the Golden Eagles (8-3, 3-2) past the host Cruisers (8-5, 2-3) Friday in Groveport.
Jagger Barnett backed Hienton with nine points while Jordan Koebel and Brody Lawhun had eight apiece.
Galion 64, Buckeye Valley 61
The Barons led 44-40 after three, but the host Tigers clawed back in the fourth to rally for a MOAC win Friday night in Galion.
Isaiah Alsip had a game-high 25 points for Galion (4-5, 2-4) while Dylan Herbert scored 18 for Buckeye Valley (5-7, 2-4).
Westerville North 69, Olentangy Orange 65, OT
Bryson Lane had 19 points and Luke Ballinger added 13 — with the duo combining for all nine of their team’s points in OT — but it wasn’t quite enough as the visiting Warriors (6-6, 1-4) held on to beat the Pioneers (7-5, 3-2) Friday in Lewis Center.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Karli Theis scored five of her team-high 16 points in overtime, all from the free-throw line, to lead Delaware Hayes to a 54-52 OCC win over host Olentangy Berlin Friday night.
Jordan Lantz was also solid for the Pacers (6-7, 1-7) in the extra session, finishing 3-for-4 at the stripe.
Chloe Jeffers backed Theis with 14 points while Katie Smith finished with two threes on the way to an eight-point night.
Jessica Nation led the Bears (6-6, 3-5) with 16 points while Maddie Goodman and Courtney Suchan also finished in double figures with respective totals of 13 and 10.
Delaware Cristian 53, Granville Christian 42
Another day, another league win for DCS.
The Eagles improved to 11-2 overall and 7-0, alone top the MOCAL standings, with Friday’s win over host Granville Christian.
Lyssi Snouffer led Delaware Christian with 23 points and 18 rebounds. Other standouts included Abbi Maurer, who had 13 points and four steals; and Hannah Maurer, who finished with seven points (five in the fourth quarter) and five boards.
Also: Big Walnut 46, Groveport 23; Olentangy Orange 38, Westerville North 29
