The Delaware Hayes boys basketball team got off to a sluggish start in its first game following the holiday break, but smoothed things out by the third quarter to parlay a strong second-half showing into a 64-56 come-from-behind win over visiting Mount Vernon Tuesday night.
The Pacers, who trailed 31-26 at halftime, couldn’t miss coming out of the locker room. They outscored the Yellow Jackets 28-9 in the third, getting three three-pointers from Hezekiah Russell, two triples from Carter Piatt-Brown and seven points from Jesse Burris, who tied with Chase Griggs for the team’s top scoring honors with 17 overall.
Up 54-40 after the huge third quarter, Hayes, which hit 13 threes in all, cruised to the finish line.
Piatt-Brown and Russell backed Burris and Griggs with 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Anthony Wilson had five points in the win.
Mount Vernon’s Hudson Rohler led all scorers with 29 points while Ben Bridges added 13.
Olentangy Liberty 46, Heritage (Arkansas) 31
The Patriots started fast, outscoring Heritage 15-3 in the first quarter and 14-8 in the second on the way to a convincing win on the first day of the Innisfree Hotels Beach Basketball Tournament Tuesday afternoon in Pensacola, Florida.
Five different Patriots scored in the first quarter. James Hummell had five early points, including a three-pointer, and Matt Wilson hit a three of his own as part of the early push.
Jackson Mikola hit a couple triples in the second quarter as Liberty jumped out to a convincing 29-11 lead by the break.
Alex Okuley, who led the Patriots with 16 points, took over from there, saving his best for last with 11 points in the fourth quarter.
Next up, Liberty is slated to play East Forsyth (Georgia) today before wrapping up the holiday trip with a showdown against Fayetteville (Arkansas) Thursday.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Claire Mikola and Gigi Bower combined for 40 points to lead the Olentangy Liberty girls basketball team to a solid 61-45 win over Norton in the fourth game of the Jingle Bell Jam Tuesday afternoon at the Cedar Point Sports Center in Sandusky.
Mikola closed with a game-best 22 points while Bower finished with 18 on the strength of four three-pointers — three of which came as part of a 17-8 first quarter the Patriots used to set the tone.
Liberty is back in action today against Berea. Tip is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
