Olentangy Orange starts fast and never looks back in 64-38 win over Newark in regional semifinals
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Jordan Edwards was eager to do everything he could to help Olentangy Orange deliver an early knock-out punch to Newark in a Division I regional semifinal Wednesday at Ohio Dominican University.
The senior point guard said the Pioneers had plenty of motivation to quickly take the Wildcats out of striking distance because they are still haunted by the memories of squandering a nine-point lead in the final two minutes of a devastating loss to archrival Olentangy Liberty in a district semifinal a year ago.
Therefore, Orange was aggressive from the very outset against Newark, and the strategy paid dividends, as the Pioneers raced out to a 13-point first quarter advantage and then gradually pulled away for a 64-38 blowout victory in front of 1,874 fans in Alumni Hall.
Orange improved to 24-3 overall and advanced to a regional final for the first time. The Pioneers will face the winner of Thursday’s semifinal between Pickerington Central (21-5) and Westerville South (21-5) in a regional final 7 p.m. Saturday at Ohio University’s Convocation Center.
“We wanted to come out strong and punch them in their throats,” Edwards said. “We didn’t want to have to make a comeback or have the game come down to the wire. We wanted a great start to take control early.
“Last year, we lost to Olentangy Liberty late in the game. I can remember their fans celebrating and we could hear them screaming after they beat us, and that lit a fire under me. I came out ready to play hard because I didn’t want to experience that feeling we had at the end of last season again.”
With Edwards running the point to near-perfection, the Pioneers made eight of 11 field goals to hurdle out to a 19-6 lead by the end of the first quarter.
The Ashland University recruit made two field goals and had two assists within the first four minutes to put Orange ahead 8-0 and he did a little bit of everything over the course of the contest, scoring a team-high 18 points on 8-for-11 shooting, nabbing a team-best 10 rebounds, dishing out a game-high four assists and finishing a game-best plus-27 in 26 minutes of action.
“Jordan’s a unique point guard who is hard to guard,” said Orange coach Anthony Calo, who earned his 150th career victory. “He’s 6-foot-3, 200-plus pounds and he’s quick and explosive. If you guard him one-on-one, he will score on you, and if you bring help, he’s unselfish and will find an open teammate.”
Edwards played well defensively, providing intense on-ball pressure, making a steal and blocking a shot.
“Our game plan was to get stops and go score right away,” Edwards said. “It boosts our confidence when we play that way.
“I like to get my teammates involved, because I trust my teammates to finish their layups.”
Edwards put a punctuation mark on Orange’s victory with a dunk that extended the Pioneers’ lead to 60-32 with three minutes remaining, prompting both coaches to begin clearing their benches.
“I was waiting for the pass,” Edwards said. “When the ball came to me, my eyes lit up, and the rest is history.”
Senior guard Elias Lewis also played a big role in Orange’s hot start, as he scored nine of his 14 points in the first quarter while making each of his first three shots.
Lewis electrified Orange’s large, rowdy student section with a soaring dunk over a defender that gave his squad a 45-26 lead with 1:30 left in the third quarter.
“We wanted to knock them out (early),” Lewis said. “The way we started the first and third quarters was huge for us. We wanted to rebound and run. We got rebounds and limited them to one shot. We just out-toughed them.”
The Pioneers outscored Newark 18-10 in the third quarter to grab a 49-30 advantage and sink any realistic hopes that the Wildcats had for making a comeback.
Levi Davis scored six of his nine points in the third quarter and had three steals and two blocks to help Orange blow the game open.
Devin Brown (11 points, six rebounds), Nick Chapman (4 points), Mikey McCollum (4 points), Keegan Knupp (2 points) and Jacob Zingg (2 points) rounded out Orange’s scoring.
“We played with great pace, that was under control, offensively,” Calo said.
Senior guard Grant Burkholder scored a game-high 20 points on 8-for-15 shooting to lead the Wildcats, who finished 20-8 overall. Burkholder drew a charge and sank a jump shot to pull Newark within 31-22 early in the third quarter, to give the Wildcats a glimmer of hope, before Orange answered with a 12-2 run.
Also scoring for Newark were Braylon Morris (8 points), Steele Meister (5), Ty Gilbert (3) and Drew Oberholtzer (2).
It was a vastly different game compared to when Orange rallied from a three-point halftime deficit to defeat Newark 50-45 on December 29.
The Pioneers dominated the boards this time around, outrebounding Newark 26-10 overall, including a 5-1 advantage on the offensive glass.
Orange was able to utilize its height and length advantage to outscore Newark 48-18 inside the paint and 8-2 on second-chance opportunities.
The Pioneers also forced 10 turnovers and scored 12 points off those chances.
“We play our system every game, switching man-to-man defense, and we take great pride in our defense,” Calo said. “It’s super-meaningful to get my 150th win in this game, because we made it this far with this group of seniors leading us.”
