Braves pass early-season test

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The Olentangy girls basketball team picked up a signature win in just its second game of the season, knocking off Tri-Valley 49-39 Saturday afternoon in Lewis Center.

The Scotties, who finished 26-3 last season, made it all the way to the Division II state semifinals before the pandemic shut winter sports down before the season could be completed. They were off to a solid start in the 2020-21 season, too, beating Olentangy Liberty 56-27 in their opener.

None of that mattered to the Braves, though, who set the tone with an 11-5 first quarter and never looked back.

Dani Beidelman had a couple inside buckets and Kennedie Doup connected from three-point range to spark the fast start. Isabelle Walters hit a pair of triples as part of a 14-13 second quarter Olentangy used to take a 25-18 lead into halftime.

Doup hit two more threes in the third as the Braves ballooned their lead to 37-25 heading into the fourth — a period Tri-Valley won 14-12 to smooth out the scoring summary.

Walters and Meg Spohn led Olentangy with 10 points apiece while Doup and Beidelman added nine apiece.

Lexi Howe led the Scotties with 15 points while Karlee Ruse chipped in eight in the setback.

The Braves (2-0) are slated to return to action Tuesday, Dec. 8 against visiting Marion Harding.

BOYS BASKETBALL

After a dominating couple of days of hoops, Olentangy Liberty is the 2020-21 Zanesville Tip-Off Classic champion.

The Patriots nearly doubled-up Marietta with a 102-52 win in Friday’s opener. In Saturday’s championship, they did exactly that, beating Athens 88-44 to improve to 2-0 and take the tourney title.

Cooper Davis led the way in the win over the Bulldogs, draining four three-pointers in the third quarter on the way to a 19-point effort. All five of his threes and 17 of his 19 points came in the second half.

Andrew Wade and Henry Hinkle played big-time roles as well. Wade had 18 points in the title game, seven of which came in the first quarter; and Hinkle poured in 15 points on his way to nabbing tournament MVP honors.

Davis also earned a spot on the all-tournament team, as did Marietta’s Tony Munos, Zanesville’s Shelton Redman and Athens’ Brayden Whiting, who had 23 points in the loss to Liberty.

Next up, the Patriots are scheduled to take on host Canton-McKinley Saturday at 4 p.m.

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Patriots win Zanesville Tip-Off Classic

By Ben Stroup

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