Late push lifts Wolves over Pacers

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The Worthington Kilbourne boys basketball team started well, but finished even better en route to a 54-40 OCC-Capital Division win over visiting Delaware Hayes on Friday night.

Hezekiah Russell hit the first shot of the game just seconds after the opening tip, but it was the only hoop the Pacers (11-6, 4-5) hit from the floor all quarter as the Wolves (7-6, 6-4) raced out to a 10-4 lead after one.

Hayes looked like it had things figured out in the second. Instead of shooting from outside, as they did in the first, the Pacers started pounding the ball into the paint, and it paid off immediately.

Jacob Enke scored inside on back-to-back trips to cut the deficit to 10-8 early in the second, then scored again from in close after Jake Lowman scored under the hoop. Jesse Burris got into the action with a driving layin midway through the quarter before hitting a three-pointer in the final minute of the half to give his team a 17-15 lead at the break.

The second half, though, was pretty much all Kilbourne. Lowman found Ryan Polter cutting to the hoop for an easy basket, ballooning the margin to 26-21 with 4:31 left in the third, but the Wolves got threes from Ayden Parsons and Luke Wolford on back-to-back trips to cut the deficit to a point, 28-27 with 2:37 left in the third.

Parsons, who finished with a game-high 33 points, took over from there. He connected on a pair of free throws to give his team a 29-28 edge and cap an 8-2 run. He then hit another triple as Kilbourne built a 36-30 lead heading into the fourth — a quarter it won 18-10 to smooth out the scoring summary.

Up by a handful late, the Wolves sealed the deal at the charity stripe, with Parsons hitting 10 straight at one point.

Olentangy Liberty 62, Upper Arlington 47

Cooper Davis scored a game-high 29 points, hitting four three-pointers and all 11 of his free throws along the way as the Patriots cruised to a league win over the host Golden Bears Friday night in Upper Arlington.

Liberty led 15-9 after one and only added to its lead the rest of the way, outscoring UA in each of the final three quarters to cement the outcome.

James Hummel backed Davis with 16 points while Trey Majidzadeh had 10.

Drew Graves and Quinn Corna had 15 points apiece for the Bears.

Also: Thomas Worthington 58, Olentangy 49; Dublin Coffman 41, Olentangy Orange 39; Big Walnut 57, Franklin Heights 38.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Chloe Jeffers became the sixth player in program history to score 1,000 points, pouring in a game-high 26 to lead Delaware Hayes to a lopsided 52-25 OCC win over visiting Worthington Kilbourne Friday night in Delaware.

Jeffers entered the game needing 26 points to hit the milestone. She got the 1,000th with a free throw in the game’s final seconds. She scored 12 of her 26 in the fourth, finishing a perfect 6-for-6 at the line in the final quarter.

Sophia Midura and Samantha Toney backed Jeffers with eight points apiece while Mara McGlone and Kacy Kohler each had seven for Kilbourne.

Olentangy Liberty 55, Upper Arlington 33

The Patriots took care of business early, racing out to a 20-6 lead by the end of the first quarter en route to a dominant league win over the visiting Golden Bears Friday night in Powell.

Jordan Rich, who finished with a team-leading 15 points, scored 10 in the first to set the tone.

Gigi Bower also closed in double figures, scoring 12 points in the win. UA’s Alyssa Gest led all scorers with 20.

Also: Olentangy Berlin 52, Hilliard Darby 43; Dublin Coffman 51, Olentangy Orange 27; Whitehall-Yearling 45, Buckeye Valley 28; Thomas Worthington 55, Olentangy 47.

Delaware Hayes’ Jacob Enke (5) puts up a shot in front of Worthington Kilbourne’s Marcus Gipson (34) during the first half of Friday’s OCC-Capital Division showdown in Worthington.
https://www.delgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2022/01/web1_dh5-1.jpgDelaware Hayes’ Jacob Enke (5) puts up a shot in front of Worthington Kilbourne’s Marcus Gipson (34) during the first half of Friday’s OCC-Capital Division showdown in Worthington. Ben Stroup | The Gazette
Jeffers scores 1,000th-career point as Hayes girls roll

By Ben Stroup

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