Delaware
OHSAA boys basketball: Delaware Hayes upends Olentangy Orange to earn first state berth
Trailing Olentangy Orange 39-35, Delaware Hayes boys basketball coach Adam Vincenzo made a defensive adjustment at halftime in hopes of changing his team’s fortunes in the Division I regional final Saturday at Ohio Dominican.
The strategy paid off, with the move from man-to-man defense to a 2-3 zone helping to propel the Pacers to a 74-56 win and their first regional title.
“It was a game of runs,” Vincenzo said. “The first quarter we were feeling each other out. We ended it with a run. They were elite in the second quarter. (At halftime), we said it was time to go to our zone and see if we could change the pace. That was a big difference for us. We kept them out of the paint and made them shoot jump shots. It was good stuff. Our guys bought in.”
The Pacers (27-1) will play Cleveland St. Ignatius (24-3) in a state semifinal at 5:15 p.m. Saturday at University of Dayton Arena. The winner plays Centerville (17-8) or Toledo Whitmer (25-2) for the title at 8:30 p.m. next Sunday.
After Orange’s Devin Brown was whistled for his third foul early in the second half, Delaware began to take control, taking the lead for good at 41-39 on Jake Lowman’s two free throws.
Delaware led by as many as 20 points in the fourth quarter.
“They went to a matchup 2-3 (zone),” Orange coach Anthony Calo said. “I thought we got solid shots. Sometimes you hit them and sometimes you don’t. I’m not upset with our guys at all. We just got a little cold. It’s hard to hear out there because the crowd is so loud, so a lot of adjustments are tough. They got hot as a pistol, and they were on fire.”
The Pacers again received balanced scoring, led by Jesse Burris’ 17 points. Landon Vanderwarker added 16, Jeremiah Russell had 14 and Lowman scored 12. The 6-foot-7 Vanderwarker also had 12 rebounds.
“It felt like a closer game,” Burris said. “They’re a good team, so you know they’re not going to go away. We just had to keep powering on, keep going.”
Brown scored 21 points to lead the Pioneers (26-2), followed by Dylan Joy with 11 and Levi Davis and Keegan Knupp with 10 apiece.
The first half was a seesaw battle with the teams trading the lead several times. Delaware led 22-17 after one quarter before Brown helped Orange rally for its four-point lead at halftime.
“We’re a confident bunch,” Vincenzo said. “We don’t get too high, and we don’t get too low. We were steady and we knew we were going to be all right. … We have a bunch of guys who are fearless. We’re not scared of the moment. We’re not scared of anything. Go make plays, and we have a bunch of guys who did.”
The win avenged a 54-39 loss to Orange in a district final a season ago.
“We knew what it felt like to not succeed on this type of stage,” Burris said. “We knew we had to take care of business on every possession.”
fdirenna@dispatch.com