Marysville’s Jack Christian buries a shot at Hilliard Davidson Friday evening. The Monarchs beat the Wildcats in OT and will share the Ohio Capital Conference Central Division title with Dublin Coffman and Upper Arlington. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
Upper Arlington downs Dublin Coffman for three-way split of divisional title
A couple of things needed to happen Friday night in order for Marysville High School’s boys basketball team to claim a share of the Ohio Capital Conference Central Division championship.
First of all, the Monarchs had to take care of their own business by beating Hilliard Davidson on the Wildcats’ home floor.
A 59-54 overtime triumph checked the first box on the list.
The second thing that needed to occur was for Upper Arlington to beat Dublin Coffman.
You can put another check mark on the ledger as the Golden Bears upset the Shamrocks, 53-41.
The outcomes of the two games leave MHS, Coffman and UA sharing the three-way title with matching 8-2 divisional records.
Monarch coach Ryan Grose was elated after the game.
“It’s a three-way tie for the championship, but we’ll take it,” he said as his squad moved to 14-8 overall. “We’ve talked to the guys the past few years about winning the division and this is huge for our program.
“We can hang a banner on the wall in the gym,” he said. ”It’s been 20 years since we’ve been able to do that.”
The game was hotly contested from the opening tip-off to the final buzzer of OT.
Neither team gained much of an advantage as they either matched the other shot for shot or empty possessions with empty possessions.
Many of MHS’ missed opportunities came as a result of the Wildcats’ style of play.
“Any time you play Hilliard Davidson, you can expect a physical game,” said Grose. “They are a well-coached team and you have to handle their style of play.”
The Monarch coach wasn’t all that happy with how his squad handled matters during the opening half.
“We had way too many (10) turnovers for my liking during the first half,” said Grose. “We also had some good looks at the basket, but some of them didn’t fall.
“The guys stepped up in the second half and made those shots.”
Both teams had a bit of trouble getting untracked during the first quarter.
It took nearly five minutes before Noah Brown’s three-pointer gave MHS its first lead at 6-4.
Jack Christian drove the lane for a basket and Garrett Taylor swished a trifecta that stretched Marysville’s upper hand to 13-8.
A nifty defensive move by Christian led to a steal and transition basket that sent the Monarchs into the second quarter with a 15-10 lead.
Daniel Neidert buried back-to-back trifectas early in the ensuing quarter to give the Cats a 16-15 edge.
After several exchanges in possessions, Joey Duke fed the ball to Taylor for a bucket.
Christian tickled the twine for a three-ball that pushed MHS out to a 20-17 edge with a little more than three minutes left until the halftime break.
Duke bounced an entry pass into Gabe Schaeffer, who completed a traditional three-point play and gave the Monarchs a 23-17 margin.
Davidson, however, refused to fold.
Jonathan Weir later connected on a pair of free throws to narrow the Cats’ deficit to 23-21.
Taylor, however, padded MHS’ halftime lead to 25-21 with a shot in the waning seconds.
The Wildcats came out battling at the beginning of the third set.
Paul Koppenhoefer scored on two consecutive possessions to return a 26-25 edge to the home team.
Another bucket by Taylor started a run that concluded when Christian buried a trifecta with a defender in his face.
That shot gave MHS a 33-28 advantage with 3:58 left in the stanza.
The Cats later pulled to within 33-31, but Duke knocked down a trey for a 36-31 MHS lead as the quarter came to a close.
Marysville took what appeared to be a solid 42-33 lead early in the final period of regulation.
Davidson, however, wasn’t going to let the Monarchs off the hook.
The Wildcats scratched and clawed their way for the next several minutes.
A shot by Jayden Humphrey capped a burst that gave Hilliard a 44-43 edge with 2:11 left on the timer.
The Cats held a 49-46 margin with 29 seconds to play.
Christian, however, was fouled on a three-point attempt.
He cashed in on all three of his charity tosses to deadlock the game at 49.
The Wildcats worked the ball down to the final seconds and missed a shot at the buzzer that would have won the game.
Both teams got ready for the four-minute extra session.
What the Wildcats weren’t ready for, however, was Christian basically taking over the game.
He opened the OT session with a three-ball that gave the Monarchs a 52-49 lead.
Ryan Paris responded with a three-ball of his own to tie the game at 52-52.
Christian drove the lane and drew another foul.
His charity tosses pushed MHS out to a 54-52 lead.
Davidson couldn’t connect on a pair of free throws and the Monarchs began bleeding the clock.
The Cats were forced to foul and they simply put the wrong man on the stripe every time.
Christian sank four additional charity tosses down the stretch to keep the Wildcats at bay.
“Jack stepped up during the fourth quarter and overtime,” said Grose. “He’s the first guy in the gym every day and the last one to leave.
“We rely on him to make the big shots or free throws.”
With the regular season in the books, the Monarchs will look forward to their opening game of the Division I tournament.
MHS will host Westerville North at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Marysville
Christian 5-15-27, Taylor 5-1-12, Schaeffer 1-4-6, Duke 2-0-5, Barlow 1-2-4, N. Brown 1-0-3, E. Brown 0-2-2, Mills 0-0-0. Totals 15-24-59.
Three-point goals: Christian 2, Duke 1, N .Brown 1.
Hilliard Davidson
Weir 4-12-20, Neidert 3-0-9, Humphrey 2-4-8, Paris 3-0-7, Koppenhoefer 3-0-6, Goins 1-0-2, Fantin 0-2-2, Grolle 0-0-0, McClellan 0-0-0. Totals 16-18-54.
Three-point goals: Neidert 2, Paris 1.
The MHS jayvee and freshman teams fell to the Wildcats.
The reserves lost, 51-44, as Griffin Johnson scored 12 and Nick Kessler added 11 for Marysville.
The freshmen dropped a 49-45 verdict.
Nolan French led MHS with 11 points.
Marysville’s boys hoop squad and head coach Ryan Grose celebrate after Friday’s game at Hilliard Davidson. The Monarchs’ win, plus Upper Arlington’s triumph over Dublin Coffman, resulted in a three-way tie between the schools for the OCC Central Division title. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)