Orange knocks off 1st-place Jags

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Hilliard Bradley used a 6-0 run to cut its deficit to a single point with 47 seconds left, but Aidan King scored in transition and Jason Foster knocked down two clutch free throws in the final seconds to help the Olentangy Orange boys basketball team hold on for a 67-63 OCC-Central Division win Friday night in Lewis Center.

The Jaguars, who entered the game as the top team in the division, played like it early, jumping out to a 7-0 lead when Peyton Murphy finished off a three-point play with 5:14 left in the first quarter.

Orange finished the first with a flourish, getting a three from King and an Andre Irvin layin, but still trailed 20-15 after eight minutes of action.

That deficit didn’t last long, though, as the Pioneers, who trailed by as many as 10 points in the first quarter, got back to even when Elias Lewis hit a jumper and Joel Addo connected from three-point land to make it 20-20 early in the second.

The teams went back and fourth from there, entering the fourth quarter tied at 46 as neither was able to build much of a cushion.

That’s when Orange took over. After Keaton Norris hit a three-pointer to give the Jags a one-point lead, Irvin scored five straight, Mikey McCollum hit a three and Foster scored inside to give the Pioneers a 58-51 lead with 3:59 left.

Bradley’s AJ Mirgon and McCollum traded threes and, after the Jags’ 6-0 run made it a one-point game — 63-62 with 47 seconds left — King and Foster scored four of the biggest points of the night on back-to-back trips to seal the deal.

The win was the third straight for the Pioneers (12-6, 4-4 OCC), who avenged a 66-50 loss to the Jaguars (13-4, 7-2 OCC) from back on Jan. 6.

Dublin Jerome 49, Olentangy 39

The Braves started well, but the host Celtics were dominant down the stretch, closing the game on a 28-8 run to notch a league win Friday night in Dublin.

Olentangy hit six threes in the first quarter alone, three from Luke Elmore, to take an 18-9 lead in the second. The Braves still led at the break, 23-16, but Jerome ended the third on a 12-3 run to to close the gap to one, 34-33, after three.

The momentum carried over to the fourth as the Celtics outscored the Braves 15-6 to smooth out the scoring summary.

Jerome’s Lachlan MacDonald led all scorers with 17 points in the win.

Buckeye Valley 61, Grandview Heights 46

Dylan Thompson hit three triples as the Barons raced out to a 20-8 first-quarter lead they parlayed into a solid MSL-Ohio win over the visiting Bobcats Friday night in Delaware.

Thompson finished with a game-best 23 points while Troy Scowden and Jake Radcliffe finished with 15 and 14, respectively.

Olentangy Liberty 64, Hilliard Davidson 58

Four different players scored in double figures as the Patriots used a balanced attack to knock off the host Wildcats in OCC action Friday night in Hilliard.

Cooper Davis finished with a team-best 15 points in the win while Tylar Foster added 14, Andrew Wade finished with 13 and Henry Hinkle had 10.

Delaware Christian 60, Northside Christian 44

The Eagles trailed 13-10 after a quarter of play, but outscored the visiting Lions in each of the final three, including 17-9 in the third to notch a league win Friday night in Delaware.

Delaware Christian’s Connor Beck poured in 28 points in the win while Andrew Winters led Northside with 11.

Also: Marysville 69, Olentangy Berlin 67; Big Walnut 53, Dublin Scioto 41.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Delaware Hayes outscored host Canal Winchester 29-18 in the middle two quarters on the way to a solid 49-40 OCC-Capital Division win Friday night.

Chloe Jeffers hit three triples and finished 5-for-6 from the charity stripe on the way to a game-high 22 points. Alexis Amabile backed her with nine while Alyssa Griner finished with seven.

Big Walnut 41, Dublin Scioto 37

The Golden Eagles, who led by a bucket heading into the fourth quarter, sealed the deal from the free throw line en route to a league win over the host Irish Friday night in Dublin.

Big Walnut, which cashed in on 12 of its 17 free throws overall, finished 10-for-13 in the fourth quarter alone.

Abby Brown closed with a team-best 11 points in the win while Abbey Coleman had 10 and Avery Maxeiner and Mel Sena closed with six apiece.

Also: Hilliard Bradley 53, Olentangy Orange 28; Olentangy Liberty 55, Hilliard Davidson 45; Dublin Jerome 39, Olentangy 32.

Olentangy Orange’s Andre Irvin puts up a shot between a pair of Hilliard Bradley defenders during the first half of Friday’s OCC showdown in Lewis Center.
https://www.delgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2021/02/web1_irvin.jpgOlentangy Orange’s Andre Irvin puts up a shot between a pair of Hilliard Bradley defenders during the first half of Friday’s OCC showdown in Lewis Center. Ben Stroup | The Gazette

By Ben Stroup

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