It’s not how you start, but how you finish … and the Olentangy boys basketball team did a good job doing just that Tuesday at Upper Arlington.

The Braves, down eight points late in the third quarter, outscored the host Golden Bears 21-6 in the fourth to rally for a 60-53 non-league win.

“We got down in the third after a back-and-fourth first half, but made a nice little run down the stretch,” Braves coach John Feasel said. “We played really good defense and did a few different things … it was just a good team win against a good team on the road.”

Sean Marks led a balanced offensive attack with 21 points. Noah Gossett added 10 and Caleb Steele and Luke Riedel finished with eight apiece.

Olentangy Liberty 75, Gahanna 62

Nick Nakasian scored a career-high 32 points to lead the Patriots to a solid non-league win over the visiting Lions Tuesday in Powell.

Ben Roderick added 19 points and Henry Hinkle chipped in 17 for Liberty, which sealed the deal with a 27-17 fourth quarter.

Watterson 60, Buckeye Valley 54

The Barons made a late push, outscoring the host Eagles 25-11 in the fourth quarter, but the comeback fell a few buckets short Tuesday in Columbus.

Dylan Herbert and Troy Scowden led BV with 13 points apiece while Watterson’s Zach Sawyer paced all scorers with 14.

Dublin Jerome 59, Delaware Hayes 44

Nate Griggs poured in a game-high 17 points and Paul Burris added another eight, but the rest of the team combined for just 19 points as the Pacers fell to the host Celtics Tuesday in Dublin.

Jerome won all four quarters, but set the tone with a solid first two. The Celtics led 17-12 after the first and 31-23 at the break.

Fredericktown 66, Delaware Christian 47

The Freddies opened with an 18-9 first quarter and never looked back, rolling to a non-league win over the visiting Eagles Tuesday night.

Pryce and Dayne Johnson led DCS with 14 points apiece while Fredericktown’s Terry Fearn led all scorers with 15 in the win.

Worthington Kilbourne 57, Olentangy Berlin 24

The Wolves opened the first half with a 16-5 run and the second with a 23-5 spurt on the way to a league win over the host Bears Tuesday in Delaware.

Austin Corley and Grant Schrieber led Berlin with 10 points apiece.

Hilliard Davidson 79, Olentangy Orange 51

The Pioneers fell into an early hole and never recovered, dropping a non-league showdown against the host Wildcats Tuesday in Hilliard.

Ryan Cutler had 14 points and Bryson Lane finished with 10 to lead Orange.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Delaware Christian stayed perfect in league play, putting together a solid second half to knock off host Tree of Life 61-48 Tuesday in Columbus.

With the game tied at 28 at halftime, DCS took control with an 18-9 third before sealing the deal with a 15-11 fourth.

“We pressed a little bit (in the second half), which kind of shook them up, and we slowed it down and ran our offense in the second half,” Eagles coach Jackie Boggs said. “This was a really good win for us.”

Lyssi Snouffer had a monster night, finishing with 32 points and 30 rebounds, while Abbi Maurer quarterbacked the offense, finishing with 14 points, nine rebounds and just four turnovers as the team’s primary ball-handler.

Big Walnut 39, Westerville Central 38

The Golden Eagles used an 18-8 third-quarter surge to turn a 22-14 halftime deficit into a lead heading into the fourth quarter — a lead they held onto en route to a non-league win over the host Warhawks Tuesday in Westerville.

Erin Boehm led Big Walnut with 11 points while Brooke Stooksbury added 10 in the win.

Dublin Jerome 45, Delaware Hayes 37

The Pacers played even with the visiting Celtics for the final three quarters, but a 17-9 first proved to be the difference Tuesday in Delaware.

Jordan Lantz led Hayes with 13 points while Jerome’s Jamie Cline topped all scorers with 17.

Olentangy Berlin 53, Worthington Kilbourne 44

Jessica Nation, Maddie Goodman and Courtney Suchan each had 13 points to lead the Bears to a solid league win over the host Wolves Tuesday night.

Berlin, which led 8-5 after one, broke things open with a 17-8 second quarter. The Bears won the third 14-8 before the Wolves took the fourth 23-14 to smooth out the scoring summary.

Hilliard Davidson 65, Olentangy Orange 34

Riley Duffy had nearly half her team’s points, finishing with 14 in Tuesday’s non-league loss to the visiting Wildcats.