Ben Roderick scored 22 points, his third straight game scoring 20-plus, to lead the Olentangy Liberty boys basketball team to a 60-57 win over Brunswick in the semifinals of the Brookwood Tipoff Tournament Thursday in Georgia.
Dan McFarland and Jack Barnett also finished in double figures, closing with 10 points apiece.
With the win, the Patriots will compete in the tourney’s championship game today at 7:30 p.m.
Newark 68, Olentangy 47
The Braves used a 21-17 third quarter to stay within striking range, but managed just four points in the fourth as the host Wildcats pulled away to win the championship of the Newark Holiday Classic Thursday night.
Sean Marks scored 14 points and Will Elmore added 10, but Olentangy had all kinds of problems containing Newark big man B.J. Duling, who closed with a game-best 24 points in the win.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Big Walnut used a fast start to gain control, parlaying a 30-14 halftime lead into a 50-34 non-league win over Centerburg Thursday in Sunbury.
Eight different Golden Eagles scored in the win. Katie Cochran led the way with 11 points while Erin Boehm and Stacey Walters chipped in seven apiece.
Hartley 55, Buckeye Valley 30
Buckeye Valley battled, but found hoops hard to come by during Thursday’s 55-30 non-league loss to Hartley.
The Barons made just 12 shots all night, half coming from Logan Hatcher and Tess Hughes, who finished with a combined 15 points in the setback. Hatcher finished with nine points to go with a game-high eight rebounds.
The Hawks, meanwhile, had four players score nine or more points. Kennedy Taylor led the way with a game-best 14.