Delaware Hayes’ Jesse Burris drives against Olentangy’s Jackson Wiley during the first half of a non-league game Tuesday night in Delaware.
Gazette | File
Jesse Burris poured in a game-best 24 points, including the 1,000th of his career, to lead first-place Delaware Hayes to a convincing 67-45 OCC win over visiting Big Walnut Friday night in Delaware.
The first time the Pacers and Golden Eagles met, in the league opener, it took overtime to decide a winner. Friday night, the game looked like it could be over after the first quarter as Hayes jumped out to a 26-16 lead thanks to nine points from Burris, two three-pointers from Carter Piatt-Brown and another triple from Hezekiah Russell.
It could have been worse, too, as Big Walnut used a trio of three-pointers from Conor Watters to stay within striking distance.
The Eagles used s 20-16 second to claw a little closer — Brody Hatfield, Watters and Jack Lamb all hit threes — but the Pacers limited them to just nine second-half points en route to the win.
Piatt-Brown backed Burris, who became the eighth player in school history to surpass the 1,000-point plateau, with nine points while Anthony Wilson had eight and Jake Lowman finished with seven.
Watters had 16 for Big Walnut while Trent Minor was close behind with 15 in the setback.
Olentangy Liberty 56, Dublin Coffman 47
The Patriots started fast and finished strong en route to a key league win over the host Shamrocks Friday night in Dublin.
Liberty set the tone with a 17-point first quarter, getting three early buckets from Alex Okuley and a triple from Jackson Mikola.
Coffman battled back over the course of the second and third, getting back to even heading into the fourth, but the Patriots won the final frame 19-10 to account for the final margin.
Okuley finished with 19 points while Mikola added 12.
Olentangy Berlin 49, Olentangy 47
The Braves’ Jack Huskey cashed in on a pair of free throws to even things at 47, but Derek Goodman’s jumper in the final minute capped a 21-14 fourth quarter as the host Bears rallied for a league win Friday night in Delaware.
Olentangy, looking to avenge an earlier loss to Berlin, led 15-6 after a quarter, but couldn’t keep the momentum for long. The Bears used a 13-7 second to make it a one-score game at halftime before the Braves used an 11-9 third to take a five-point lead into the fourth.
Goodman led all scorers with 22 points while Huskey finished with a team-best 20 for Olentangy.
