Bradley’s Cade Norris hits 3 of his 19 points over Liberty’s Parker Van Engelenhoven. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
Cade Norris scored 19 points to pace Hilliard Bradley’s rout of Olentangy Liberty, but it was the play of freshman point guard Ben Mirgon – when Norris was sidelined with foul trouble – that spurred the finishing kick.
Grove City, OH – When Hilliard Bradley All-Ohio guard Cade Norris picked up his third foul on a charging call at the 3:32 mark of the third quarter in a Division I district semifinal Wednesday night, it could have signified a pivotal moment.
Your athlete runs better on chiropractic. Call 614-401-2021 to schedule today.
Bradley was clinging to a 33-32 lead over Olentangy Liberty with its Illinois State-bound senior leader and all-time leading scorer headed to the bench. This was the opportune time for the Patriots to pounce.
“As a coach, this is where you want to see how your team responds in the biggest moment of a tight game,” said Bradley coach Brett Norris, Cade’s father.
It proved to be a blue-ribbon moment for the fifth-seeded Jaguars as they embarked on a 20-0 run over a magnificent span of just over seven minutes, paving the way to a 57-37 win at Central Crossing.
Veteran central Ohio columnist Steve Blackledge writes the OCC and sports at large for Press Pros.
The first 10 points covering the rest of the third quarter came without Norris.
Freshman guard Ben Mirgon dished out three assists, all to Andrew Lamb, during the surge.
Bradley freshman Ben Mirgon stepped up and delivered some key plays during a rout of Olentangy Liberty on March 6, 2024.
“Ben really guided our team during that stretch,” Brett Norris said. “Even as a freshman, he has a keen understanding of what needs to be done to get his teammates involved. To show that kind of maturity in a big moment like that in a big game was absolutely huge.”
Amazingly, Bradley held Liberty to just one field goal (a three-pointer by Toby Gage) in the final 11 minutes and 40 seconds.
“I knew in that moment when Cade went out, I had to lead the team,” Mirgon said. “Honestly, we felt like we had them right where we wanted them even though the score was close. We were playing well. We just needed to start knocking down shots.”
Norris finished with a game-high 19 points, boosting his career total to 1,561 points. Lamb had 10 of his 12 points from the middle of the third quarter on. Mirgon chipped in eight points and five assists.
Bradley (20-5) will take on Westerville Central (16-8) at 11 a.m. Saturday at Ohio Dominican University’s Alumni Hall in quest of its fourth district title in seven seasons. The Jaguars were runners-up last March.
“I think we’re probably playing our best basketball right now, and your goal always is to peak at this time,” Cade Norris said.
Bradley had swept Liberty by scores of 55-38 and 58-55 in Ohio Capital Conference Central Division play, but Brett Norris knew the Patriots (14-10) wouldn’t be pushovers. Since Jan. 27, Liberty’s only three defeats came by two, three and three points. In fact, seven of its nine losses were by four points or fewer.
Want a greener, healthier lawn? We can help. contact Weedman USA at 614-733-3747 or go online to Weedman.com.
“We knew this would be a tough game, and that was certainly the case for much of the game,” the coach said. “We did a significantly better job rebounding this time. On offense, we’ve been playing with good pace, execution and maturity. I like where we are right now.”
Six-foot-seven junior Tyler Kropp was the only Patriot in double figures with 10 points. He came in averaging 22.3.
South’s Dashawn Simmons goes to the glass over Orange defender Keegan Knupp.
“They hit shots and we didn’t tonight,” Liberty coach Greg Nossaman said. “They really got it going during that big run they had. We felt pretty good about ourselves, but obviously it all went south in the last quarter and a half.”
Olentangy Orange 67, Columbus South 53
Eight players scored between six and 13 points as top-seeded Orange (24-1) led comfortably throughout its win over ninth-seeded South (17-6) in the nightcap at Central Crossing.
Orange will face eighth-seeded Reynoldsburg (19-6) in quest of its second straight district title at 2 p.m. Saturday at ODU. The other two championship games on the card feature second-seeded Delaware (24-1) against Walnut Ridge (17-7) at 5 and fourth-seeded Newark (21-4) vs. sixth-seeded Westerville North (21-4) at 8.
Levi Davis goes to the hoop for 2 after a steal.
The Pioneers’ staunch defense, allowing just 42.3 points per game, made life difficult for South from the outset. Orange led 39-18 at halftime.
“I think there were highs and lows tonight,” Orange coach Anthony Calo said. “South plays very hard and very physical and made it chaotic at times. There were moments where we needed more poise. We were kind of sloppy defensively in the second half after we got the big lead, but you’ve got to give South credit for not giving up.”
Despite sitting the entire second quarter and much of the fourth, 6-5 all-district guard-forward Devin Brown had 13 points to pace Orange and sophomore guard Levi Davis added 12, but the bench provided ample production.
“Our numbers six-to-nine guys in the rotation obviously would like to play more, but they practice hard and have a great attitude and you like to see them have a little success in this kind of environment,” Calo said. “They really gave us quality minutes tonight.”
LaJames Washington (16 points) and Chris Stokes (15) paced South, which captured the City League South Division title with a 14-0 record.
