By Ben Stroup
The Delaware Hayes boys basketball team did everything it wanted to Wednesday, including beat Hilliard Darby 57-37 to capture the Larry Eberst Classic crown.
Shutdown defense … check. Balanced scoring … check. Efficient offense … yup, the Pacers were certainly efficient.
“I think tonight a lot of guys played important roles for us,” Hayes coach Jordan Blackburn said. “We drew six charges as a team, we were 15-for-15 from the free throw line in the second half and our scoring was balanced.
“We showed good patience at the offensive end — Will (Yoakum) and Jake (Bourget) both had six or seven assists — and we assisted on 17 of our 20 made baskets. Sam Midura and Derrick Buford … their energy was key. Sam (eight rebounds, five blocks) was a man in the paint and Derrick was all over the place.”
The Pacers (4-6) outscored the Panthers 14-4 in the first quarter to set the tone. They wrapped things up with a 26-17 fourth.
Zach McIntire led Hayes with 15 points, Yoakum added 10, Bourget finished with nine, Buford had eight and Midura had six in the win.
Also: Washington Township (NJ) 58, Liberty 46; Tri-Valley 67, Big Walnut 40.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
The Olentangy girls basketball team rebounded from Monday’s slim two-point tourney-opening loss in a big way, cruising past Carmel (NY) 48-19 in the KSA Holiday Classic Wednesday afternoon in Orlando, Florida.
The Braves (7-2), who had 11 different players score, raced out to a 12-1 lead by the end of the first quarter. A 12-9 second made it a 24-10 game at halftime and a 15-6 third-quarter surge all but sealed the deal. They outscored Carmel (1-6) 9-3 in the fourth just for good measure.
Kelly Meade led Olentangy with nine points. Olivia Margolies added six while Grace Pennington and Desiree Dulay finished with five apiece.
Also: Liberty 41, Plum Senior (PA) 37.
