Olentangy’s Ulysses Ponder (1) grabs the loose ball and goes coast to coast with Marysville’s Jason Moore (22) in pursuit. After a lackluster first half of shooting for both teams, the Braves finally found their rhythm in the second half, defeating the Monarchs 54-44 to claim a share of the OCC Cardinal Title. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
Diminutive Ulysses Ponder scored 27 points and keyed a 15-0 third-quarter run that helped Olentangy overtake Marysville and a force a share of the OCC Cardinal title with the Monarchs.
Marysville, OH – All week long, Olentangy boys basketball coach John Feasel wore a t-shirt to practice celebrating his success as Braves girls coach to remind his players what was at stake Friday night. And, of course, to get under their skin a little.
“We won the (Ohio Capital Conference) five times in my 13 years as girls coach,” said Feasel, who was born and bred in the Olentangy system, well before it ballooned into a four-school district. He spent his final two seasons at from Groveport with his father before returning to Olentangy “The guys knew it was their turn to take care of business.”
Aptus Wealth Management proudly sponsors the Buckeyes and Central Ohio sports on Press Pros.
Junior guard Ulysses Ponder said he and his teammates were a bit taken aback by their coach’s brazen display.
“I didn’t say anything, but it (ticked) me off a little,” he said. “I hated that there was nothing about the boys on there.”
Veteran central Ohio columnist Steve Blackledge writes the OCC and sports at large for Press Pros.
Capitalizing on a 15-0 run spanning nearly five minutes of the third quarter, Olentangy dumped Marysville 54-44 to gain a share of the OCC Cardinal Division championship with the Monarchs.
In addition to being the first OCC title in program history, it marked the first league title for the Braves (12-8, 7-3) since capturing the now defunct Buckeye Athletic Conference in 1992. Prior to that, Olentangy hadn’t hoisted a banner since Feasel’s father, John, guided the team to a Central Buckeye League crown in 1980.
Olentangy’s Jay Agrawal (3) gets in the face of Marysville’s Ryker Bowden (5). Bowden did not convert the shot.
Want a greener, healthier lawn? We can help. contact Weedman USA at 614-733-3747 or go online to Weedman.com.
While the historical significance of the win surely won’t register with his youthful team (the roster has no seniors), it certainly got a rise from Feasel, who bear-hugged an assistant coach as the final seconds ticked away, and a sizeable crowd that made the trip to Union County in treacherous weather.
“Our athletic teams have won quite a bit at different levels, but we’d never won the OCC in boys basketball and we’ve been in the league since, what, 1997,” Feasel said. “No question, this was big for us.”
So big that the players were on the bus without 10 minutes of the final buzzer, eager to return to Olentangy to cut down the nets. That trip took an hour-and-a-half due to the winter weather that blasted central Ohio Friday, but the wait was worth it.
“Man, I’ve looked at our walls and our school doesn’t have a lot of history in boys basketball, so this was really, really special for us,” Ponder said. “This is something we set as our goal at the beginning of the season and even though we’ve had some ups and downs, it’s satisfying to be able to come away with a co-championship. Hopefully, this won’t be the end, though. We’ve got the tournament coming up and hopefully we can raise some more banners in the future.”
Olentangy’s Carter Hire (4) hits a big three-point shot during a Braves scoring burst in the 3rd quarter that took their margin to double-figures.
Ponder, who is perhaps generously listed at 5 feet 9 and 145 pounds on the roster, played a humongous role in the victory. He scored nine of his game-high 27 points during the pivotal surge and added four rebounds and two steals. Ponder, who averages a team-high 16.2 points per game, carried the Braves on his back with his slick ball-handling, jack-knifing style and quick release.
Carter Hire started the run with a three-point goal. He also nailed a 23-foot trey off a nifty assist from Jay Agrawal, and Ponder added a three of his own.
One of the smallest teams in the area, Olentangy came in with 169 three-pointers in 503 attempts. It’s safe to say the Braves live and die from the three-point line.
“We’re small, so we’ve got to shoot threes,” Feasel said. “Old coach Feasel doesn’t like it, but I think it’s starting to grow on him after watching us play all year.
“Ponder, he’s hard to handle for a lot of teams. It’s all about bringing the others along with him. Hire is our sparkplug, and he did a fantastic job as the chaser on (CJ) Collins. I think he only made one basket.”
Marysville, which sewed up its share of the title two weeks ago, chopped an 11-point deficit to 41-38 with 3:15 remaining.
But Ponder took over down the stretch, forcing the Monarchs to chase, gamble and foul.
Ulysses Ponder (1) takes an elbow from Marysville’s Cole Brewer (24) but no foul was called. Ponder turned the ball over after stepping on the baseline during his drive.
“Ponder did a really, really good job for them on both ends of the floor,” said Marysville assistant Jamey Collins, who was filling in for head coach Mark Tinklenberg, who was suspended after drawing two technicals in the previous game.
“I think they did a great job keeping us off-balance by switching defenses and disrupting what we like to do. Everybody knows what they like to do on the offensive end, and they finally found a rhythm there in the third quarter during that run.”
Jason Moore, a 6-7 senior with over 1,000 career points, had 16 points, eight rebounds and four blocks before fouling out to pace Marysville (12-9, 7-3), which has dropped four straight games and five of six since Jan. 26. Moore typically defended from 15 feet out to harass Olentangy’s shooters. He was matched up against Ponder frequently.
“Of course, everybody will look at the big run we had in the third quarter, but I thought we won this game with our defense tonight,” Feasel said. “We followed the game plan perfectly. We wanted to shut down Collins and Moore and we did.”
