Ethan Crawford finished with a game-high 22 points and Nick Roden and Aaron Watson added 12 apiece as the Buckeye Valley boys basketball team handled visiting Marion-Franklin 64-56 Friday in Delaware.
Crawford was aggressive all night long, getting to the the free-throw line 11 times. He made nine of his shots from the charity stripe to pad his point total.
Buckeye Valley started well, racing out to a 13-11 lead after one, but really separated itself with a 20-11 second quarter.
Elijah Jackson backed the top-scoring trio with seven points while Nate Edington added five points and a team-leading 12 rebounds.
Hayes 62, Watkins Memorial 44
Pacer coach Jordan Blackburn asked his guys to be more assertive on the defensive end and they answered in a big way, shutting down the visiting Warriors in the second half on the way to a non-league win Friday in Delaware.
Hayes started the second half on a 28-6 run to turn a two-point lead into a 24-point spread.
“We challenged our guys at halftime about being engaged on the defensive end,” Blackburn said.
And the Pacers, who improved t0 7-3 overall, were certainly engaged, allowing just six points from the start of the half until the 3:47 mark of the fourth quarter.
“These kids are high-character guys,” Blackburn said. “We lost one of our most experienced and talented players to an LCL sprain four games ago (senior guard Kam Beekman). Our boys have come together and responded with discipline to that loss and gone on a four-game winning streak and gotten better because of it. They know our best basketball is ahead of us.”
Terin Kinsway finished with 27 points and 19 rebounds while Will Yoakum added 21 points and seven assists. The Pacers had a huge night from the free-throw line, finishing 32-for-39 in the win.
Alpharetta 71, Liberty 58
The Patriots shaved down a seven-point deficit with a solid second quarter, but never quite found their form in Friday’s loss to Alpharetta in the Brookwood Tipoff Tournament championship in Georgia.
Ethan Novy led the Liberty charge with five three-pointers on the way to a 17-point night. Jack Barnett and Mitch Kershner also scored in double figures, closing with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
The Olentangy girls basketball team, buoyed by a balanced offensive attack, used a big second half to rally past Akron Manchester 53-46 in non-league action Friday at Barberton High School.
The Braves, who trailed 29-24 at the break, won the third quarter 18-10 before taking the fourth 11-7 to smooth out the scoring column.
Molly Delaney scored a team-high 14 points while Lauren Biehl added 12. Other standouts included Olivia Margolies and Allison Raiff, who finished with 10 and eight points, respectively.
Hayes 49, Groveport-Madison 45
Jessica Walker scored a career-high 18 points to go with eight rebounds to help the Pacers overcome a 13-point deficit in the third quarter on their way to a non-league win Friday in Groveport.
Madison Eldridge had nine points, Katie Blair had seven points and six assists and Keiona Houser pulled down 10 rebounds to go with four points for Delaware (6-3).
Diaba Diane led Groveport (4-5) with 15 points and Imani Johnson added 11.
Also: Belleville 50, Liberty 49
