The Olentangy Liberty boys basketball team crept closer to at least a share of the OCC-Central Division crown Monday night, rallying past visiting Hilliard Bradley 57-49 in Powell.
With the win, the Patriots (12-8, 6-2) have a one-game lead atop the league standings with two OCC contests to go.
The Jaguars (12-6, 3-5), who led at the end of each of the first three quarters, did everything but close. The Patriots, who never let things get out of hand despite being down most of the game, took care of that.
Down 37-34 heading into the fourth, Liberty finished with a flourish, outscoring Bradley 23-12 in the fourth to seal the deal.
Cooper Davis, who led all scorers with 17 points in the win, hit two clutch three-pointers in the fourth. Trey Majidzadeh was lights out down the stretch as well, scoring nine of his 12 points in the final period to punctuate the come-from-behind win.
Other Patriot standouts included Jackson Mikola and James Hummel, who had 10 and nine points, respectively.
Cade Norris led the Jaguars with 16 points in the setback.
FROM SATURDAY
Delaware Hayes combined a solid defensive effort with a balanced offense output to roll to a 51-35 OCC-Capital Division win over host Dublin Scioto Saturday night.
The teams entered the second quarter tied at 11 before the Pacers used a 14-7 second to take control. They doubled up the Irish 16-8 in the third to add to their edge before a 10-9 fourth smoothed out the scoring summary.
Anthony Wilson led the charge with 11 points while Jesse Burris, Jake Lowman and CJ Holmes chipped in nine apiece. Hezekiah Russell was also steady in the win, finishing with seven points.
James Maholm closed with a game-best 12 points to lead Scioto.
Olentangy 66, Big Walnut 41
The Braves started fast and never really slowed down en route to a non-league win over the host Golden Eagles Saturday night in Sunbury.
Olentangy jumped out to a 21-8 lead after the first quarter and only added to its advantage from there, outscoring Big Walnut 18-15 in the second quarter, 13-5 in the third and 14-13 in the fourth.
Andrew Boyle hit two of the Braves’ 10 three-pointers en route to a game-best 15 points. Logan Thrapp also finished in double figures, closing with 11 points, while Will Keller and Gideon Alabi chipped in eight each.
Ryan Tripp had 11 points to pace Big Walnut while Carter Imertreijs finished with nine in the setback.
Also: Granville Christian 53, Delaware Christian 33
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Delaware Hayes didn’t score in the third quarter, but it didn’t matter as it still beat visiting Dublin Scioto 42-31 on Monday night.
Up 10-8 after one, the Pacers erupted for 19 points in the second quarter to take control. Chloe Jeffers, who finished with a game-best 21 points, hit two threes and scored eight points as part of the big quarter. Sophia Midura, who had 11 points in the win, also hit a triple in the second.
The Irish clawed back into things with a 6-0 third, slicing their deficit to 29-26, but Hayes won the fourth 13-5 to cement the win.
Avery Sammy had a team-best 15 points for Scioto.
Also: Olentangy Liberty 56, Hilliard Bradley 22.
FROM SATURDAY
Abbie Bell poured in a team-high 16 points, Mia Raines was right behind her with 15 and Deanara Mbouge had 13 as Olentangy Berlin handled host Licking Heights 62-41 on Saturday.
Heights was led by Kasheenah Lovinsky’s 17 points.
Also: Buckeye Valley 32, Grandview Heights 24.
