Braves pull away from Patriots

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Jerred Kinnaird poured in a game-high 18 points, Sean Marks added 14 and Alex Sieve chipped in 13 to lead the Olentangy boys basketball team to a 55-44 win over host Olentangy Liberty in the OCC finale Friday in Powell.

The game couldn’t be tighter in the early going, with the teams tied at 10 heading into the second quarter.

That’s when the Braves took control. They outscored the Patriots 17-10 in the period to take a 27-20 lead into the break. Olentangy maintained the momentum in the second half, too, winning the third quarter 13-12 and the fourth 15-12 to account for the final margin.

The Braves outscored the Patriots by eight points at the free throw line, finishing 15-for-23 at the charity stripe.

Mitch Kershner led Liberty with 15 points while Llwyatt Hofer and Dan McFarland finished with six apiece.

Olentangy gets back at it Tuesday against visiting Marysville in its regular-season finale before opening up the Division I District Tournament against 18th-seeded Darby next Saturday in Hilliard. Tip is set for 7 p.m.

The Patriots, meanwhile, turn their attention to the postseason. They’ll host 20th-seeded Hilliard Davidson next Saturday at 7 p.m.

Olentangy Orange 61, Westerville North 58

The Pioneers netted 23 fourth-quarter points to rally past visiting Westerville North, one of the top teams in Central Ohio, Friday in Lewis Center.

Jalen Bethel finished with a team-best 18 points to lead Orange while Matt McCollum backed him up with a solid 16-point performance.

Julius Brown led the Warriors with a game-high 21 points.

With the regular season behind them, the 13th-seeded the Pioneers will look to get primed for the postseason. They’ll take on the winner of next Saturday’s opener between 12th-seeded Logan and 21st-seeded Tri-Valley in the second round March 2.

Delaware Christian 48, Granville Christian 41

DCS trailed by a bucket heading into the fourth quarter, but outscored visiting Granville Christian 14-4 down the stretch to secure its second straight win and fourth in the last five games Friday in Delaware.

Nathan Stewart led the Eagles with 15 points while Isaac Rindfuss, who poured in four points in the decisive fourth, closed with 13 in the win. Pryce Johnson was also solid, finishing with nine points.

Next up, 12th-seeded Delaware Christian will travel to 11th-seeded Millersport in the second round of the Division IV District Tournament Feb. 27 at 7 p.m.

Groveport 64, Big Walnut 61

The Golden Eagles outscored the host Cruisers 24-16 in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to complete the comeback in Friday’s OCC finale.

Big Walnut, which led 13-10 after one, was outscored 16-10 in the second quarter and 22-14 in the third.

Nathan Montgomery led the Eagles with 16 points.

http://www.delgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2018/02/web1_GAZETTE-SMALL-17.jpg
Kinnaird nets game-high 18 points in 55-44 win

By Ben Stroup

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