Boys Basketball: Delaware Hayes wins first district crown since 1986
Hilliard Bradley, Olentangy Orange and Newark also win Division I titles
Saturday, March 9, 2024
By Michael Rich
mrich@cbussports.com
Walnut Ridge’s Lee’Sean Saunders (left) and Delaware’s Jake Lowman fight for the ball during the Div. I district finals at Ohio Dominican Mar. 9. Photo: Lorrie Gardner
Jake Lowman was willing to take a back seat when Landon Vanderwarker decided to join the Delaware Hayes boys basketball team.
Lowman and Jesse Burris were the primary scorers for the Pacers for much of the last three years. But Lowman wanted to win and was willing to play any role the team needed.
So, when Delaware defeated Walnut Ridge 90-76 to win the program’s first district championship since 1986 on March 9 at Ohio Dominican’s Alumni Hall, it was proof that being unselfish was worth it in gold.
“All I want to do is win,” said Lowman, a senior guard, who scored 18 points. “My points don’t matter as long as the team is winning. We knew (Walnut Ridge was) going to try to run and jump – they’re an athletic bunch. We tried moving the ball and whoever was going to score was going to score. It didn’t matter to us as long as we were winning.”
Second-seeded Delaware, which improved to 25-1, plays Hilliard Bradley in a regional semifinal on March 13 at 8 p.m. back at Alumni Hall.
“Jake is one of those guys that’s sacrificed a lot this year,” Pacers coach Adam Vincenzo said. “But in the tournament run – he’s making plays. He’s just being a leader (and) being unselfish. He does so many things for us. He can score if we need him, but we have a lot of other guys that can score it. He causes mismatches, he rebounds it – he just does a lot for us. He just wants to win and that’s what he is – a winner.”
Burris, who led with 28 points, scored the last two baskets of a 9-0 run to start the game and Walnut Ridge never recovered.
“I feel like we’re at our best when we’re going up and down,” Burris said. “I had that first turnover really quick and I was like, ‘Alright, I’m ready to go. I’ve got my feet underneath me now.’ There’s definitely jitters. This place was packed and it’s a big game. But once we got going, it was fine.”
Vanderwarker scored 21 points and Jeremiah Russell added 18 for the Pacers, who led by as much as 23 on several occasions in the second half.
“It’s a great feeling for our guys, but our community is unbelievable too,” Vincenzo said. “I felt like the whole town was here today.”
Dominique Aekins hit a 3-pointer and followed with a steal and a layup to cut the 22nd-seeded Scots’ deficit to 12 late in the fourth quarter. He led all scorers with 34 points.
Marquise Lucas had 17 points, Lee’Sean Saunders chipped in nine for Walnut Ridge, which finished 17-8.
“Early on, it was just too easy for them,” Scots coach Chuck Jefferson said. “They had way too many transition points, they were beating us up and down the floor and we just didn’t make them work for anything in that first half.
“Against a great team like that, you can’t dig yourself a hole. We knew coming in we needed to play our brand of basketball and execute at a high level. Against a team like this, you can’t give them any type of cushion.”
Delaware’s Jesse Burris goes up for a shot against Walnut Ridge during their Div. I district finals at Ohio Dominican March 9. Photo: Lorrie Gardner
Bradley 64, Westerville Central 62
Jaguars coach Brett Norris had to pause when talking about his son, Cade’s, performance. The emotion he was trying to hold back had more to do with family than basketball.
Cade Norris found Andrew Lamb for a layup with 2.2 seconds remaining for the game-winning basket to clinch the Jaguars’ first title since 2021 and fourth overall.
“(Cade) was dominant … the best player on the floor,” coach Norris said. “He’s been the best player on every floor. He’s had an incredible career.”
As Cade Norris was leading the Jaguars, Braden Norris was getting ready to celebrate his Senior Day as a graduate student at Loyola Chicago.
Cade Norris went for 36 points, seven assists and five rebounds to lead Bradley.
Coach Norris didn’t like the Jaguars’ chances when he called timeout trailing 58-45 in the middle of fourth quarter.
“We were on our heels,” he said. “We didn’t have a good look about us during a timeout. I’ve done this a long time and it didn’t have the feel of a game where we had any (chance to win). We just had a blank stare. Games like this in the tournament where if you find a way to win – it feels so much like a second life. It can really propel you to bigger things.”
Cade took the fifth-seeded Jaguars on his back with 16 points and a couple of assists in the final quarter.
He rebounded his own missed free throw and scored to cut the deficit to 60-58 and then made his final four free throws to tie the game at 60 with 1:16 remaining.
A Maceo Harper backdoor pass found the bottom of the backboard and ended up in Ben Mirgon’s hands to set up the game-winning play.
Duncan Spaulding had nine points, Lamb finished with eight points and three rebounds and Mirgon had six points, six assists and three rebounds for the Jaguars, who improved to 21-5.
“It’s more about the team than anything,” Cade Norris said. “The fact that the team gets to cherish this and experience it – that’s what it’s all about.”
Devin Martin led the Warhawks with 16 points, six assists and three steals, Josh Henderson added 14 points and Harper had 13 points.
Isaiah Brown went for nine points, 13 rebounds and a pair of blocks for 13th-seeded Central, which finished 16-9.
“(Bradley) is really hard to beat and they have (Cade Norris), who they played through the whole second half,” Warhawks coach Kevin Martin said. “He made a lot of plays. It’s as hard as a game as you play in when you get to this point. You prepare for everything.
“Like I told our guys before we came out here, you have to be able to adjust because what’s usually your game plan isn’t the way it goes. Our kids battled and fought. We had a stretch there in the second half where we were rolling. But we couldn’t sustain that.”
Olentangy Orange’s Devin Brown (5) and the rest of the Pioneers celebrate their DI district title win over Reynoldsburg at Ohio Dominican Mar. 9. Photo: Lorrie Gardner
Orange 60, Reynoldsburg 40
Pioneers coach Anthony Calo took it as a personal challenge when he saw eighth-seeded Reynoldsburg in his bracket.
Led by a great all-around effort by Keegan Knupp and some hot-shooting by Dylan Joy, top-seeded Orange rolled to a 60-40 win to win their second district title in as many years after not winning one previously.
“They executed that (game plan) beautifully,” Calo said. “I heard different stuff about why they chose to play us. They didn’t want to play certain teams that are really disciplined. What we told our kids is that we’re disciplined. We have skill, athleticism and discipline – a combination of all of that. I am very proud of them.”
Orange faces Newark in a regional semifinal final on March 13 in the opener at 5:30 p.m.
The Pioneers used a 20-2 second quarter and raced led by as many as 27 points on a couple of occasions in the second half.
“Coach Calo got us fired up,” said Knupp, a junior forward, who led with 18 points, eight rebounds and three steals. “He got us amped the whole week leading up to that. I just wanted to be a difference-maker. It just happened to be with points and rebounds today. I know my role – to get offensive rebounds and (score) points (off them).”
Dylan Joy knocked down four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points and three rebounds for the Pioneers, who improved to 25-1.
Devin Brown had 10 points, five rebounds and a pair of blocks and Treyton Schroeder had four assists and four rebounds for the Pioneers.
Noah Smith had 10 points and six rebounds and Jordan Fisher and Toby Nowokolo each had seven points for the Raiders, who finished 19-7.
Newark 68, Westerville North 56
The fourth-seeded Wildcats held the sixth-seeded Warriors scoreless in the second quarter until there were zeros on the clock. And while North rallied, it was just too much to overcome.
Ethan Stare scored 21 points and Steele Meister added 15 points and 12 rebounds to lead Newark to its second consecutive district championship and 28th overall.
The Wildcats improve to 22-4 and North finishes 21-5.
“I’m so proud of these guys,” Newark coach Jeff Quackenbush said. “I think our defense has been what’s good for us all year. At times, we’ve struggled to score and that’s what keeps us in games.”
North’s Tyson Perkins knocked down a couple of free throws with 12.9 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Brayden Norris double-pumped and then hit a jumper from the right wing to beat the buzzer. It started a 16-0 run that pushed the Wildcats’ lead to 31-13.
Tai Perkins was fouled on a half-court heave at the halftime buzzer and made all three free throws to help the Warriors avoid a shutout in the quarter.
Still, North was held without a field goal for 12:03.
Newark pushed its lead as high as 20 in the second before the Warriors got to 11 on a couple of occasions.
The game slowed to a snail’s pace in the fourth quarter where 27 fouls were called. All told, there were 58 fouls called for the game. Four players fouled out, five more finished with four and five others with three apiece.
Jake Quackenbush knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points and four rebounds for Newark. Kalen Winbush, Braylon Norris and Ty Gilbert each had four boards for the Wildcats. Gilbert had nine points and Morris added eight.
Micah Young had 24 points, eight rebounds and three steals, Tai Perkins had 11 points and Elijah McClure accounted for all nine of his behind the 3-point line.
Newark’s Ethan Stare drives against Westerville North’s Tai Perkins in their Division I district final Mar. 9 at Ohio Dominican. Photo: John Hulkenberg