Hilliard Bradley coach Mike Limbird is far from unfamiliar with the Orange Pioneers, seeing how he was on the Orange bench as an assistant just a season ago.
Limbird’s Jaguars did a solid job staying with the Pioneers in the first half, but the host team took charge in the second and closed things with an 81-64 Ohio Capital Conference Capital Division victory Friday night at Orange High School.
“We have a veteran team that understands where the ball needs to be,” Orange coach John Betz said. “They’re unselfish and they help each other. There’s always somebody else ready to step up. (Senior) Jason Hoskins knocked down a couple shots in the first half. When they double our guards, we have to have those other guys step up.”
Who would have thought shooting free throws with your eyes closed could pay off in the long run.
After suffering through the beginning of the season from the free throw line, the Lancaster Gales connected on 17-of-21 from the charity stripe to down visiting Groveport 60-51 in a Ohio Capital Conference-Ohio Division matchup.
"We started practicing shooting free throws with our eyes closed because we were shooting under 50 percent," Gales coach Sarah Chevalier said. "Tonight as a team we were 17-of-21, and last game we were 11-of-12, so something's working."
One of the things that worked Friday was the play of junior Hillary Jacks, who scored a game-high 23 points -- including 11-of-13 from the line.
"Hillary played a phenomenal game," Chevalier said. "She drove to the basket strong."
When the Reynoldsburg High School boys basketball team captured its first Division I district championship in 2006, a pair of players who were seniors that season averaged a combined 40 points, and both ended up earning Division I scholarships.
While the Raiders still have questions to answer before they can be considered a district-title contender this season, they do have one striking thing in common with that team.
Seniors Kevin Gray and Branden Rushton give Reynoldsburg a tandem that might be as good offensively as any in central Ohio.
The Pickerington High School Central boys basketball team's Tuesday game at Delaware marks the end of a scheduling anomaly. The Tigers' first six games this season and seven of their first eight are on the road.
It has made coach Jerry Groves' job of adapting his young team to varsity play much more difficult.
"I don't care what sport you're talking about, when you're at home, it's easier to play," Groves said. "You've got the crowd behind you and you're comfortable playing in a gym you're in all the time. Being on the road like we have been is not easy."
The first meeting between the Central Crossing and Grove City high school boys basketball teams did not feature the intra-district intensity other communities have experienced in recent years.
Perhaps it was because Grove City entered the game with just one loss and Central Crossing was winless. Perhaps it was because the outcome was decided early as the Greyhounds went on an 18-2 first-quarter run. Perhaps it was because the crowds' thoughts were more on the start of winter break than the berth of a potential rivalry.
In what seemed more like a run-of-the-mill regular-season game, Grove City beat Central Crossing 92-52 last Saturday.
Pickerington Central had thoughts of playing a tough boys basketball game at Gahanna Lincoln.
And the Ohio Capital Conference Ohio Division matchup was close for a while, like when the Tigers went behind 10-7 early in the second period Friday, Dec. 18.
But the Golden Lions started taking control soon after that with their speed and their shooting ability. First, there was a 6-0 run with baskets by Stevie Taylor, Anthony Jackson and Jamel Morris for an 18-9 lead.
After Central broke that streak with an Anthony McGarrah three-pointer, Lincoln simply started another run, this time 12-2 -- featuring a couple of treys by Sam Bott -- to close out the first half with a 30-14 advantage.
As his team accepted the program's second state title trophy in the past four years, an emotional Brian White shook his head in amazement.
The Hilliard Davidson High School football head coach had just witnessed his team rally for a dramatic 16-15 win against Cleveland Glenville in the Division I state title game before 9,845 fans at Canton's Fawcett Stadium on Saturday night.
Davidson closes out the season at 13-1 and the Tarblooders finish at 13-2.
The Hilliard Davidson High School football head coach had just witnessed his team rally for a dramatic 16-15 win against Cleveland Glenville in the Division I state title game before 9,845 fans at Canton's Fawcett Stadium on Saturday night.
Davidson closes out the season at 13-1 and the Tarblooders finish at 13-2.
Pickerington High School North girls basketball team was in its inaugural season when the Panthers beat Cleveland (Tenn.) 69-37 for the title at the 2003 Holiday Classic.
Since then, North has gone five tournaments with zero titles, three second-place finishes and two fourth-place finishes.
Last season, the Panthers finished fourth after losing to Kettering Fairmont 43-37 in the third-place game. After beating McMurray (Pa.) Peters Township 56-43 in the opening round, North lost to Chicago Bogan 36-32 in a semifinal the next day.
Against Bogan and Fairmont, North shot a combined 18-for-59 from inside 3-point range, 6-for-39 from outside it and 15-for-33 from the line.
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