Hartley’s Jaden Calloway (1) attempts a shot over DeSales’ C.J. Carter (5) during the battle for the Central Catholic League Title on February 23, 2024. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
Pharez Nicholas sank 6-for-6 foul shots in overtime and 13-for-13 on the night as Hartley rallied from a late deficit to overtake DeSales 61-56 in overtime in a high-stakes Central Catholic League slugfest.
Columbus, OH – Football is and always has been the king sport in the Central Catholic League, so no one should have been surprised that the Hartley-DeSales boys basketball showdown Friday was a knock-down, drag-out affair with more than its share of in-your-face defense, floor burns, hard fouls and hard feelings.
Hartley’s Pharez Nicholas (0) was a force on both ends of the court, but became an iceman at the line, going 6 for 6 in OT to lockdown the title for the Hawks.
But in the end, it took an amazingly poised performance in overtime by the sometimes-volatile Pharez Nicholas that gave Hartley a 61-56 win and an outright CCL championship before a jam-packed and boisterous crowd at DeSales.
Nicholas, a 6-foot-5 junior, went 6-for-6 at the free throw line in overtime and 13-for-13 on the night in a 25-point effort as the Hawks – fifth-ranked in the Associated Press poll — fought off a game effort by the Stallions, who were gunning for a share of the title.
“Their student section was super loud, calling me names and trying to get in my head but I wasn’t the least bit nervous up there at the line,” said Nicholas, who picked up a technical for taunting after a basket in the first quarter and sat a good part of the half with two fouls. “I worked a lot in the offseason shooting foul shots just for these kinds of moments.”
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Hartley went to a four-corner offense often late in regulation and again in overtime to utilize the brilliant one-on-one ball skills of point guard Jakhi Calloway and force DeSales to foul. In theory, the big guy seemed like an obvious candidate to foul.
“When you’re on the road in a big game like this, you don’t want to give them more possessions, so we wanted to space them out and use all the personal fouls they had (22) to our advantage,” Hartley second-year coach Andreas James said. “Big shout-out to Pharez. He was clutch with all those free throws. But all things aside, I think we won this one with our defense. That’s been our bread and butter all year. We can really guard the ball.”
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The Hawks entered the game scoring 58.4 points per game and yielding just 45.9. Two of their three defeats came by two points.
DeSales capped a 10-0 run with a fast break basket by Daevyn Amankwaah with 4:05 left in regulation to take a 51-47 lead.
But Hartley forced turnovers on back-to-back possessions and cashed in with baskets by Nicholas at the 3:12 mark and Jonathan Michael at 2:14. After yet another DeSales turnover with 1:37 left, the Hawks played for a final shot but couldn’t convert.
PJ Noles scored 23 on the night, but it still wasn’t enough for the Stallions.
Two Stallions fouled out in the overtime as Hartley seized control and went to a spread. The Stallions pulled to 57-56 on a tip-follow by Amankwaah with 27 seconds left, but four free throws by Nicholas – with another DeSales turnover sandwiched in between – salted away the victory.
Calloway added 16 points and six rebounds for Hartley (19-3, 5-1), which enters the Division II district tournament as the No. 1 seed and prohibitive favorite.
“In the end, I think our execution in the end and some key stops and steals on defense pulled us through a tough, tough game,” Calloway said. “We came into the season with a lot of goals, but to get this first one out of the way was a thrill, especially before a packed crowd with so much intensity. Technically, we had already wrapped up our share a couple weeks ago, but it was big to come in here the last game of the season and take some momentum in the tournament.”
James said the tight game in a raucous environment was just what the doctor ordered for Hartley.
“It’s nice to prove to ourselves that we can deal with some adversity because we’ll surely have a few more of these in the next few weeks,” he said. “It’s great to see the kids get rewarded with the CCL title. That’s just goal No. 1 for us in a season of high expectations, but my staff and I preach about the process and this sets us up for the new season ahead.”
Nicholas didn’t seem to want to take too much credit for his dead-eye clutch free throw shooting. Hartley went 22-for-25 at the stripe.
Harley’s Ethan Godfrey (11) puts a move on DeSales defender Michael Walker (32).
“When I think back to what won the game for us, it had to be those stops on defense at the end (of regulation),” he said. “They had us on the ropes a little, but when they made those turnovers, we turned around and got in transition and made a couple big baskets.”
DeSales coach Pat Murphy lauded his players for their effort, but rued the late-regulation meltdown that turned the tide. The Stallions committed 17 turnovers.
“If we handle the ball better and make our free throws, we win the game,” he said. “After that sequence, it seemed like we were never in a position to do what we wanted to. Hartley did a good job holding the ball and making us foul, and they made their free throws. It was a battle all night … a great game.”
PJ Noles hit four three-point shots and scored 23 points in an impressive performance for DeSales (12-10, 3-3), which has been playing solid basketball since Christmas. The Stallions, who reached the Division II state title game in 2021, now compete in Division I.
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