Bishop Watterson wins low-scoring battles against Bishop Hartley

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Blaise Ohlin has been hampered by more than his fair share of injuries while playing basketball at Bishop Watterson.

This season, the senior shooting guard has played through nagging pain caused by tendonitis in his left foot and soreness in his right knee, which originated from a previous fracture in his kneecap. Ohlin also missed one game this season due to a sprained ankle.

Prior to this season, Ohlin suffered a broken nose during his junior season, a fractured right femur bone before his sophomore season and a fractured spine heading into his freshman season.

“I know it sounds like I’m falling apart, but this is the healthiest I’ve been in a long time,” Ohlin said with a laugh. “It’s been tough coming back from all of that, but I usually don’t feel my injuries much in games, and then afterwards, Icy Hot does the trick. I’m just grateful to be out there after everything I’ve been through.”

Ohlin’s coaches and teammates are equally grateful that he has persevered through his long list of injuries, especially after he scored a game-high 14 points to lead the Eagles to a 42-33 upset victory over Bishop Hartley Friday night at home.

With the win, Watterson improved to 11-8 overall and 2-2 in the Central Catholic League, and avenged its 62-51 loss at Hartley on Jan. 12. Hartley, which is ranked fourth in the Division II state poll, dropped to 15-3 overall and 3-1 in the CCL.

“This is a huge win for us, because it gets us back in the race for the CCL title,” Ohlin said. “This was a great team win, where everyone contributed, and I just happened to be the leading scorer tonight. This feels awesome. Winning this game makes me feel like all of the hard work that I put in to come back from everything I’ve been through these past four years, has all been worth it.”

Ohlin came up big for the Eagles when they needed him the most, scoring 11 of Watterson’s 23 second-half points.

The 6-foot senior pulled up for a 3-pointer to tie the score at 22 just a minute into the third quarter, and moments later, he slashed past two defenders to the basket for a layup to put the Eagles ahead 24-22.

“Blaise has had to deal with some nuisance-type injuries this season, but he’s battled through them, and he moved and played well tonight,” Watterson coach Vince Lombardo said. “Blaise’s attacking and scoring on offense were important to our success.”

Ohlin continued to use his speed and deft ball-handling to drive to the basket in the fourth quarter and after drawing contact in the paint, he made a free throw with 5 minutes, 58 seconds remaining to give the Eagles a 31-30 advantage and spark an 8-0 run that essentially decided the game.

The senior captain also scored on a runner in the lane during that crucial stretch, and he sank another free throw with 3:12 left to put Watterson ahead 38-30.

“I’m always aggressive,” Ohlin said. “I’ve played that way my whole life, so when I saw the opportunity to drive to the basket, I took it.”

Dominic Theado, a 6-foot-5 junior post player, also played a large role in the Eagles’ win, as he scored 11 points and racked up 12 rebounds.

With Hartley’s best post player – 6-foot-5 junior Pharez Nicholas – sitting out the game with an injury, Theado was a terror on the offensive glass, racking up three offensive rebounds in the third quarter alone.

Theado converted one of those offensive rebounds into a 3-point play, as he was fouled while scoring on a put-back. His free throw put Watterson ahead 27-22 with 4:15 remaining in the third quarter.

“I was a little disappointed that Pharez Nicholas couldn’t play, because we play AAU ball together and are friends,” Theado said. “I just had the mentality that I was going to be the aggressor on the boards and not back down from anyone. I also play football, and I think the lifting and contact I get in that sport helps me a lot in basketball in terms of toughness.”

Jack Schuler, a 6-foot-5 freshman post player, also had 10 rebounds, while Noah Holsinger had five rebounds, and point guard Henry Monnin and Ohlin each had four rebounds. With those players leading the way, Watterson outrebounded Hartley 36-19 overall, including 23-7 while outscoring the Hawks 23-13 in the second half.

“Dom drew a lot of attention, and both he and Jack made a big impact defensively and with their rebounding,” Lombardo said. “We had good rebounding from our guards as well, and our advantage on the boards played a big role in this game.”

Watterson had only 11 turnovers against Hartley’s high-octane full-court press.

“Hartley does a nice job with its pressure and scoring easy points off of turnovers, so we knew we had to keep our turnovers down,” Lombardo said. “I thought our two senior guards, Henry Monnin and Blaise Ohlin, stepped up, and we did a nice job of handling their pressure down the stretch.”

Watterson’s man-to-man defensive pressure was effective throughout the game, as the Eagles forced the Hawks into 10 turnovers.

The Hawks struggled with their shooting, making just 33 percent (13-of-39) of their field goals overall, including only 20 percent (4-of-20) of their field goals in the second half.

“Our guys played really well defensively and we did what we wanted to do,” Lombardo said. ‘We took away penetration from their guards, with good help defense, and we got out on their guys who can really shoot it.”

Sophomore guard Jakhi Calloway scored eight of his team-best 10 points in the first half to help Hartley take a 20-19 halftime advantage. His older brother, junior guard Jaden Calloway, scored eight points, including a driving floater in the paint that put Hartley ahead 22-19 in the opening seconds of the third quarter.

“To Hartley’s credit, they were missing their big boy (Nicholas) tonight,” Lombardo said. “He’s an excellent player inside, and we were able to take advantage of his absence and control the boards and score inside more.”

Ohlin and Theado both had a team-high three assists as well.

“Toward the start of the fourth quarter, we took all of the momentum away from them and started to build our lead up to eight points,” Theado said. “Blaise is our best perimeter player when it comes to driving the ball to the basket, and he was great tonight, scoring a lot in the second half to prevent us from letting our lead slip away.

“Blaise has been through so much adversity, with his injuries and other challenges over the years, and so we’re all happy that he’s been able to keep going and play so well as a senior. This was a huge win for us, and it means everything to our coaches and players to beat a state-ranked team in our gym.”