Isaiah Brown took over in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 of his team-leading 13 points down the stretch to help the Westerville Central boys basketball team rally for a 59-51 non-league win over host Olentangy Monday night in Lewis Center.
The Braves, who entered the game winners of two straight, looked well on their way to a third in the early going. Reid Apke hit a corner three set up by a nice find from Gavin Grover and, after Central’s Devin Martin scored back-to-back buckets, Harrison Ronnebaum hit two of his own, the second a three-pointer, before Grover scored inside to give Olentangy a 12-6 lead with 2:28 left in the opening quarter.
The Braves (3-2) doubled up the Warhawks (3-3) in the first, leading 16-8 before Ronnebaum opened the second with another three-pointer.
Central pulled to within six, 22-16 thanks in part to a pair of free throws from Dallas Tucker, but a goaltending call on a hard drive from Ethan Grunkemeyer gave Olentangy a 24-16 lead with less than three minutes left in the first half.
Central regrouped from there, though, finishing the quarter well before turning things around in the second half. Jared Hart hit a runner to give the Warhawks a 36-34 edge with less than two minutes left in the third — their first lead since it was 6-5 early on — and they never trailed again.
Nick Patton then hit a three-pointer to cap a 7-0 Central run early in the fourth.
Patton backed Brown with 10 points while Tucker and Hart had nine apiece.
Grover led all scorers with 20 points in the setback while Ronnebaum had 15.
Columbus Academy 45, Buckeye Valley 29
The Barons were in good shape after a quarter, up 8-5, but saw the host Vikings outscore them 29-10 in the middle two quarters en route to an MSL-Ohio win Monday night in Columbus.
Dane Fisher and Brendan Stalf led BV with eight points apiece.
From Sunday
Olentangy Liberty picked up its sixth straight win over the weekend, blowing out Springfield 76-43 Sunday at Capital.
The Patriots set the tone with a 19-11 first quarter and kept the pressure on from there. They outscored the Wildcats 21-9 in the second quarter and 17-13 in the third to all but seal the deal.
Liberty’s James Hummell led all scorers with 19 points in the win, 15 of which came in the first half. Matt Wilson was also solid, finishing with 13 points on the strength of three three-pointers, while Toby Gage finished with nine and Alex Okuley had eight.
From Saturday
Buckeye Valley finished with a flourish Saturday in Whitehall, outscoring the host Rams 10-1 in overtime to escape with a hard-fought 58-49 MSL-Ohio win.
The game was back and fourth from the start. The Rams led 16-12 after a solid first quarter and, after the Barons won the middle two quarters by a combined 31-16 margin, the hosts won the fourth 16-5 to force the extra session.
Zane Melvin and Noah Huss led BV with 12 points apiece. Huss also added a team-best nine rebounds in the win.
Also: Olentangy Orange 59, Cleveland Heights 50; Olentangy 51, Wapakoneta 40; Ridgedale 54, Delaware Christian 37.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Buckeye Valley was active on the defensive end from start to finish, forcing 27 turnovers en route to knocking off rival Delaware Hayes 47-27 Saturday night in Delaware.
The Barons, who never trailed, led 14-6 after the first quarter and never looked back. Ella Hazelrigg led BV with 14 points, eight rebounds and four steals. Emily Huston was also solid, collecting 13 points, while Carlie Osborne did a little of everything with five points, six boards, six assists and five steals.
Samantha Toney was the only Pacer who was able to get going at the offensive end, finishing with a game-best 17 points in the setback.
Big Walnut 71, Olentangy Orange 44
The Golden Eagles led 17-12 after the first quarter and only added to their edge the rest of the way en route to a lopsided non-league win over the host Pioneers Saturday afternoon in Lewis Center.
Denza Allen finished with a game-best 16 points in the win while Megan Weakley (14 points), Maddy Stumpf (12) and Teagan Ng (10) also finished in double figures.
