The Buckeye Valley boys basketball team continued its mastery of the MSL-Ohio Tuesday night, pulling away from visiting Bexley 64-50 to win the league title outright.
The Lions’ Chris Mitchell, drilled a three-pointer just before halftime to send the teams into the break knotted at 27 after a back-and-fourth opening half, but things didn’t stay so tight for long.
The Barons (16-2, 9-0) flexed their muscles in the third, using a 10-0 run to take control.
Owen Osborne and Mitchell traded three-pointers to open the third before Mason Kurtz hit a corner three to give BV a 33-30 edge with 6:40 left in the quarter.
Brendan Stalf hit a three on BV’s next trip down the floor to extend the lead a bit more before an Osborne steal set up Kurtz for a transition hoop. Osborne then scored in transition off another Bexley (10-7, 5-6) turnover to cap the double-digit run and give the Barons full control.
Bexley finally stopped the bleeding, but Osborne, Scowden and company were too much in the end. Osborne cashed in on a driving layin at the end of the third before a Scowden steal led to another Osborne hoop to open the fourth and all but seal the deal.
Mitchell hit a pair of three-pointers in the fourth to help the Lions hang around, but it wasn’t nearly enough as the Barons simply continue to find ways to win league games.
Osborne ran the show, doing a little of everything in the win. He poured in a team-best 21 points to go with three rebounds, three assists and two steals … all while turning the ball over just once. Scowden was all business as well, collecting 15 points to go with seven rebounds and six assists, both team highs.
Kurtz added 14 points in the win while Connor Hardman chipped in nine.
Olentangy Berlin 56, Mifflin 42
The Bears used a solid middle two quarters to get the job done Tuesday night, outscoring the visiting Punchers 10-5 in the second and 19-10 in the third on the way to a non-league win.
Berlin’s Jason Inbody led all scorers with 20 points while Derek Goodman added 12 and Mathios Abenet chipped in eight.
Semaj Bryant and Josh Allen finished with eight points apiece for Mifflin.
Hilliard Darby 53, Olentangy 38
Three different players — Gio Roberts, Matt Sech and Cam Gilkerson — scored in double figures for the host Panthers en route to a league win over the Braves Tuesday night in Hilliard.
Sech and Gilkerson had 13 points apiece while Roberts finished with 11.
Harrison Ronnebaum had a team-best 13 points for Olentangy while Andrew Boyle added 10.
Westerville North 61, Big Walnut 52
The Warriors used a balanced offensive attack to sweep the season series against the visiting Golden Eagles Tuesday night in Westerville.
Carter Reese scored a game-best 17 points while Micah Young and Caleb Iheukwu closed with 13 and 12, respectively.
Carter Imertreijs had a team-best 14 points for Big Walnut.
Also: Tree of Life 49, Delaware Christian 37; Upper Arlington 55, Olentangy Orange 43.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Delaware Hayes sent its seniors out with a win, doubling up visiting Buckeye Valley 40-20 on Senior Night.
Chloe Jeffers finished with a game-best 17 points while Sophia Midura had 10 in the win.
The Pacers led from the start, setting the tone with a 9-3 opening quarter. They only added to their lead from there, outscoring the Barons 15-6 in the second and 7-2 in the third before a 9-9 fourth smoothed out the scoring summary.
Emily Huston had a team-high nine points for BV.
Tree of Life 63, Delaware Christian 34
Katie Neuhart had a big game, pouring in 28 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Trojans rolled to MOCAL win Tuesday night in Delaware.
Addy Beard and Julia Pearch backed Neuhart, smoothing out DCS’ scoring summary with four and two points, respectively.
