Northside Christian, Fisher Catholic capture Division IV boys basketball district titles
Paced by Josh Cook's 23 points and five 3-pointers, top-seeded Northside Christian led for the last 27 minutes and defeated third-seeded Galion Northmor 62-46 on Friday at Ohio Dominican to win a second consecutive Division IV boys basketball district title.
Davontrel Jackson scored 10 points, Carter Jury had nine and Paul Kuteyi added eight for the Lions (20-5), who will play Berlin Hiland in a regional semifinal Tuesday at Ohio University.
Northside Christian finished each of the first two quarters on a 10-2 run and led 31-15 at halftime.
Jax Wenger scored 16 points and Grant Bentley added 10 for Northmor (18-7).
"They’re a great team, and we knew they were going to have a big crowd and great coaching," Northside Christian coach Tim Kusan said. "We did not want to get down. We talked about it, and we knew we had to come out on fire. We knew they had never won a district, and they were going to give it everything they had."
–Rob McCurdy, Marion Star
Fisher Catholic 51, Shekinah Christian 46
Hyde O’Rielley had 19 points, six rebounds and two assists and converted a key 3-point play with 1:20 remaining, leading the sixth-seeded Irish to an upset of the second-seeded Flames in a Division IV district final Friday at Ohio Dominican.
O’Rielley’s late basket and free throw gave Fisher Catholic (16-9) a six-point lead and all but locked up the second district championship in program history. The first was in 2002.
The Irish, who have won seven consecutive games, play Russia or Cincinnati College Prep in a regional semifinal Tuesday at Kettering Fairmont.
Shekinah Christian (22-3) entered on a 19-game winning streak.
“This is unbelievable, but the credit goes to those 13 guys right there,” said Fisher Catholic coach A.J. James, pointing to his players as they cut down the net. “Our guys have grinded through 72 practices. Even when it was tough, even when things weren’t going well, they fought through it. We have won 13 out of our last 15, and I couldn’t ask for a better group.”
Peyton Owens added 15 points and four rebounds for the Irish, and Grant Keefer had eight points and 16 rebounds.
–Tom Wilson, Lancaster Eagle-Gazette
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Northside Christian, Fisher Catholic win district in boys basketball
