Saturday, March 4, 2023
By Scott Hennen
shennen@cbussports.com

Olentangy Orange boys basketball coach Anthony Calo had the same fashion sense, following their program’s first Division I district championship.

The third-seeded Pioneers all were wearing their own portion of the ceremonial championship net following the squad’s 54-39 victory over 10th-seeded Delaware on March 4 in a Division I district final at Ohio Dominican.

Calo had most of the net around his neck while speaking with family, friends and the media. Senior guard Mikey McCollum had a strand hooked over his left ear, and senior guard Elias Lewis over his right.

“We have been talking about climbing ladders (to cut down ceremonial nets) all year,” said McCollum, who scored 12 points. “It’s our first one this year, and it was great.”

Fourth-ranked Orange advances to play Newark (20-7) in a regional semifinal at 7 p.m. March 8 at Ohio Dominican. The Wildcats won their 27th district title by defeating Olentangy Liberty 57-48.

The winner advances to a regional final at 7 p.m. March 11 at Ohio University in Athens against seventh-ranked Pickerington Central (21-5) or Westerville South (21-5), which is coached by Calo’s father, Ed Calo.

The Pioneers lost to Newark 65-53 in a district final in 2019. Orange defeated the Wildcats 50-45 this season Dec. 29.

Calo wasn’t about to let this chance at a district championship slip away. Last year, the Pioneers had a nine-point advantage with 1 minute, 36 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of a district semifinal, but Liberty rallied to win 53-50.

“There were 90 seconds left (against Delaware), and we were up 15,” he said. “Our coaches were like sub, sub, sub, but we had been burned too many times. 

“You think back to last year being up 9 in the district semis. It wasn’t that I didn’t have confidence in our guys but we just wanted to make sure we got through this until it was over. We were there waiting to exhale.”

Orange used a familiar formula to win the program’s first district championship.

The Pioneers were playing without starting senior forward Nick Chapman, who suffered a high-ankle sprain in a 64-54 win over 18th-seeded Grove City on March 1 in a district semifinal. Just as Orange had done for 15 games this season without McCollum, it used their depth, up-tempo attack and aggressive defense to subdue the Pacers (20-5).

“We’re kind of built that way,” Calo said “We had to do it when Mikey was out 15 games and we went 13-2 without him.

“It was tough and super-sad when Mikey got hurt but the other guys really stepped up. We were used to stepping up, We have playmakers on the bench that work incredibly hard. We have some younger guys who aren’t afraid of the big moment. So when we have guys going down, we know we can step up.”

McCollum, a Hillsdale, Michigan, recruit, had just two points at the half, but had a big second half to end the Pioneers’ lead from four points to 39-29 after three.

“We couldn’t focus on (Chapman) being out,” he said. “We had to focus on the guys we have on the court and having the five on the court playing as hard as they can.”

Senior point guard Jordan Edwards, an Ashland signee, led the team with 14 points.

“I think Jordan is exceptional at getting to the rim and his passing is incredible,” Calo said. “He’s the best passer in the state of Ohio in my opinion. We needed to make sure we were reversing the ball and then attacking. Jordan had a great shot at the rim without the reversals but in the second half he was more patient and we could exploit those matchups.”

Senior guard Elias Lewis added 13 points. Sophomore forward Devin Brown, starting for Chapman, scored nine.

“At half, the coaches said we needed to reverse the ball more and get it on both ends of the floor,” Lewis said. “We had been taking too many quick 3s, and struggled early in the first half. That’s where our 3s came from, ball reversals late in the possession. We were wide open, and we just knocked them down.”

Junior forward Jesse Burris had 21 points and 14 rebounds for Delaware, which was looking for its first district title since 1986.

“Jesse will hit shots, he’s a shot-maker,” Calo said. “He will continue to make shots but you have to have a short memory. He’s going to make tough shots but he will miss tough shots. We had to be resilient when we guard him.”

Delaware coach Adam Vincenzo said his team was playing catch-up throughout the contest.

“I thought we settled in after that first (Orange) initial run but in the second half if we hit a shot, they answered with one,” he said. “We couldn’t chip away the way we would have hoped to.

“They took us out of what we wanted to do offensively. It’s the way they guard. They’re long. They’re big. They’re strong. They’re physical. They switch everything. We were trying to adapt to that but we struggled scoring it here today.”

Lewis was proud to be a part of the first district championship but more importantly is happy to have a chance to keep the season going.

“It’s our first one,” Lewis said. “I have been playing varsity for four years, and we have all been working hard for this first one. We want to keep playing.”