Wednesday, February 22, 2023
By Scott Hennen
shennen@cbussports.com

The Olentangy Orange boys basketball team had a simple illustration last year of how quickly a promising season can go by the wayside.

The Pioneers held a nine-point lead with 1 minute, 36 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of a Division I district semifinal, but Olentangy Liberty rallied to win 53-50. The loss was a reminder of the offseason work necessary to reach their primary goal, the program’s first district championship.

“We remember hearing the noise of (Liberty) celebrating after we were defeated, and we don’t want that to happen again,” 6-foot-4 senior guard Mikey McCollum said. “A district championship is a must for us, and then we move on.”

After finishing 15-8 last season, third-seeded Orange has set a program-record for wins in a season, entering a district semifinal Feb. 24 against 45th-seeded Chillicothe at 20-3 overall. The previous high was 18-5 in both 2015-16 and 2016-17.

The Pioneers have reached a district final twice since the school opened in the 2008-09 school year. They lost to Pickerington Central 62-55 in 2013, the first season under coach Anthony Calo. The other was in 2019, a 65-53 loss to Newark.

“We have been on track this year,” said 6-3 senior guard Elias Lewis, who leads the team averaging 16.9 points per game and he adds 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists. “We wanted to win the (OCC-Central Division) but we have a tough conference. We just need to go 1-0 and we go to (the) district (final) and win it.”

Orange tied Hilliard Bradley for second (7-3) in the OCC-Central behind Liberty (9-1). Its only losses came in league play with a pair of setbacks to Bradley (63-55 on Jan. 6 and 62-51 on Feb. 10) and another to Liberty (56-55 on Jan. 13). The Pioneers defeated Liberty 56-50 on Feb. 17 in the second meeting.

“I think our guys enjoy each other, and we have great chemistry,” said 6-3 senior point guard Jordan Edwards, who averages 10.6 points and 1.3 steals with team-highs in rebounds (4.8) and assists (6.0). “We bond together on the court.”

Edwards, Lewis and McCollum build a strong nucleus for the Pioneers but have only played together for three seasons. Lewis moved to the district from Wilmington before his freshman season, and Edwards played at Grove City Christian as a freshman.

“They are really about each other,” said Calo following a 76-27 rout of 46th-seeded Logan on Feb. 21 in the opening round of this year’s tournament. “Our chemistry has been good all year because they have a lot of pride in playing for each other. They have talent, and they are selfless and that’s a good combination.”

That chemistry was apparent when handling the adversity of losing McCollum for 15 games to injury. During those contests, Orange was 13-2.

“I fractured my hip (at the end of a 55-45 win at Dublin Jerome on Dec. 6), and then came down on someone’s foot and twisted my ankle a couple games after coming back,” said McCollum, who averages 15.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.4 steals. “It’s hard sitting on the sideline because you want to be out there so bad. I just learned that we’re a deep team, and we don’t necessarily need me out there. We have guys one through 10 that can produce any night.”

Calo was impressed by how his players were able to make up for McCollum’s absence.

“We were 13-2 without Mikey, which is really, really good,” he said. “Elias and Jordan stepped up. We had some role players step up. I think everyone collectively stepped up, and we took care of things together.

“Elias has obviously had a fantastic season so he did an excellent job of stepping up in Mikey’s absence but collectively they stepped up to carry the load. If we’re going to go where we want to go, we have to have Mikey.”

Lewis provided leadership for the Pioneers in an 86-78 double-overtime win over Thomas Worthington on Jan. 10. He scored a program-record 43 points with seven 3-pointers and made all eight of his free throws.

“I just got hot in the second half,” said Lewis, who had 34 points with six 3s after halftime. “I had nine points in the first half, and started hitting. It just boosted my confidence a lot for the second half of the season.”

Lewis’ performance likely was buoyed by the Pioneers’ fast-paced play. It’s a characteristic of Calo-led squads.

“Coach stresses our pace,” said Edwards, who has signed to play at Ashland. “I feel like when we play at a fast pace, we’re tough to guard. We try to get stops in transition and get layups and transition 3s. When we get stops and transition 3s, that’s when we are at our best.”

The Pioneers were at their whirlwind best against Logan, forcing more than 30 turnovers and scoring in transition. They hit 14 3-pointers, tying a single-game program record set twice in less than a week in 2019. Orange defeated Franklin Heights 75-40 before downing Urbana 66-51 four days later.

Orange rose to fourth in the final Division I state poll, behind Centerville, Lakewood St. Edward and Stow-Munroe Falls, respectively. Liberty was fifth, defending state champion Pickerington Central was seventh and Westerville North 10th.

McCollum said the Pioneers need more than a high ranking to reach their goal.

“To me, it’s just a number,” the Hillsdale (Michigan) signee said. “I take it with a grain of salt. We need to prove who we are.

“I think chemistry is the key. Everyone loves each other. We’re just a senior-led team that likes being around each other.”

(2/24/23) Follow-up to our original story: Olentangy Orange beat Chillicothe 76-25 Friday night and will play 18th-seeded Grove City in the District semifinals next Wednesday, February 1st at 7:00 p.m. at Upper Arlington High School. Grove City topped 15th-seeded St. Francis DeSales 67-43 Friday.

Photos: Kevin Rouch