Boys Basketball: Ponder leads Olentangy to first OCC crown
Friday, February 16, 2024
By Michael Rich
mrich@cbussports.com
Olentangy head coach John Feasel celebrates the Braves’ victory at Marysville Feb. 16 to capture the team’s first OCC title. Photo: Kevin Lam
Searching for a little extra motivation this week, Olentangy boys basketball coach John Feasel dusted off some old gear from when he coached the girls program.
After all, Olentangy had a chance to do something it had not done since joining the Ohio Capital Conference in 1997 … win a league championship in boys basketball.
“All week, the guys got tired of seeing me in my Lady Braves stuff,” said Feasel, who led the girls program for 13 seasons before taking over the boys team in 2016. “I kept reminding them that we won it five times when I was coaching the girls.”
Ulysses Ponder took it to heart and responded with a game-best 27 points in leading the Braves to a 54-44 win at Marysville on Feb. 16.
The Braves, who share the OCC-Cardinal Division title with the Monarchs, haven’t won the league since 1992 when they were members of the Buckeye Athletic Conference.
“It was pissing me off a little because (the shirts) said, ‘Lady’ and I wanted to get one for us,” said Ponder, a junior guard, who scored 27 points and added five rebounds and a pair of steals.
Olentangy’s Ulysses Ponder (1), who led all scorers with 27 points, drives by Marysville’s Andrew Rabe during the Braves’ game at Marysville Feb. 16. Photo: Kevin Lam
It’s Olentangy’s sixth league championship overall, including 1980 when John W. Feasel was coach.
Ponder scored 19 points in the second half, four in an 8-0 rally that pushed the lead to 50-38 in the fourth quarter.
Carter Hire knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter to jump-start the Braves in a 15-0 run that gave them the lead for good. Olentangy hit five from long range for the game.
“It was huge because it was a low scoring game,” Ponder said. “I feel like that just started the scoring for us and really opened everything up. It just feels great that we were able to get the win and I was able to help my teammates too. (Winning an OCC title is) just a huge achievement for our school, honestly.”
Jay Agrawal also finished with a pair of 3s and scored eight points and Jackson Wiley had seven rebounds to go with five points for Olentangy, which improved to 12-8 overall and 7-3 in league play.
Marysville, which led 19-17 at the half, and 23-19 early in the third quarter, fell to 12-9 overall and 7-3 in the OCC-Cardinal. It’s the Monarchs’ fourth consecutive loss and fifth in the last six games.
Olentangy’s Carter Hire (4) drives to the basket during the Braves’ win at Marysville Feb. 16, clinching the team’s first OCC title. Photo: Kevin Lam
“They really did a great job of switching defenses and disrupting what we like to do,” said assistant coach Jamey Collins, who was coaching the team in place of Mark Tinklenberg because of a one-game suspension. “It’s tough to survive with that many turnovers and relying on your defense. We were happy with our defense, but you can’t rely on it to keep a good team (like Olentangy) to 17 points. Eventually, they found their rhythm. Ponder did a really, really good job of setting the table for them.”
Jason Moore had 16 points, eight rebounds, three blocked shots, three steals and a pair of assists to lead Marysville.
Ryker Bowden had eight points, four rebounds and three assists and Leo Rausch had a pair of 3s in the first half and added four rebounds for the Monarchs, who had already clinched their share of the title – the programs 13th overall and first since 2020.
Olentangy appeared out of the race after consecutive losses to Thomas Worthington on Jan. 26 and Hilliard Darby on Feb. 2.
But Olentangy Berlin opened the door by beating Marysville on Feb. 9. The Bears could have shared the crown, which would have been their first, but lost 66-55 at Thomas on Feb. 16.
“They’re young and they think the world is over with,” Feasel said. “We lost to Darby and came in Saturday morning (for practice). I said, ‘Hey fellas, you know what happened at 6:35 this morning?’ They said, ‘What?’ I said, ‘The sun came up and we’re going to be alright.’”
Marysville’s Jason Moore (22) goes over the defense to score during the Monarchs’ home game with Olentangy Feb. 16. Photo: Kevin Lam