Mekhi Roddy scored 15 points as Reynoldsburg claimed a second straight district Title with a win over Pickerington North. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
Top-seeded Hilliard Bradley, second-seeded Newark, third-seeded Olentangy, fourth-seeded Reynoldsburg, ninth-seeded Pickerington Central and 13th-seeded Olentangy Berlin captured district boys championships Saturday at the Ohio Expo Center and Ohio Dominican.
Columbus, OH – Olentangy junior standout Ty Walburn stood at the free throw line with 19.2 seconds left in overtime as his Braves were on the verge of finishing off defending state champion Olentangy Orange.
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“Your worst fear as a basketball player is to go up there and miss,” he said.
The first-team All-Central District choice, who shoots 80 percent from the line, promptly clanked two shots off the rim with the game on the line. But fortunately for the Braves, Walburn had the instincts and savvy to chase down his second miss and save the day. He was promptly fouled and sank his next two foul shots to seal third-seeded Olentangy’s exciting 50-47 win at the Ohio Expo Center’s Taft Coliseum Saturday.
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“I saw the second shot going off to the left and went after it, and nobody was boxing out,” Walburn said.
The win gave third-seeded Olentangy (21-2) its first district title since 1991 and equaled the program record for wins established in the school’s first season after district consolidation in 1953-54.
“The biggest attribute I like about this team is about the way we battle, and that carries over into practice every day,” Braves coach John Feasel said. “It’s just a group of guys who take things personally when they lose, and Ty Walburn is the biggest example of that. You knew it just killed him to miss those two free throws, but he kept battling and made perhaps the biggest play of the game.”
Walburn and Jackson Mangham scored 14 points each and Mike Alexander 10 for Olentangy, which avenged a 47-42 loss to Orange 47-42 on Feb. 7.
The defensive battle included six lead changes and four ties.
Orange’s Elijah Manley converted a steal into a layup with 41 seconds left to ultimately force overtime.
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A series of key defensive stops helped Olentangy pull out the win in overtime.
Pickerington North’s Noah Ghebremeskel and Reynoldsburg’s Xavier McKinney mix it up early in the first quarter during a district title game.
“They jumped on us in the bracket and everybody picked us to lose this one, but we worked so hard and we deserved this,” said Mangham, a 6-foot-9 Connecticut football signee as a tight end. “To be part of something historic like this is so awesome.”
Six-eight Grant Miller had a fantastic game for the fifth-seeded Pioneers (15-9) with 21 points, including three 3-point shots and an array of spin moves to the hole. But it was not enough for Orange, which was seeking a fourth straight district title.
“The bottom line was they out-physicalled us and won some key defensive battles,” Orange coach Anthony Calo said. “We were winning by two in overtime and let it get away. We had our chances. I think back to us giving up a box out on a missed free throw (by Walburn). That’s the way things went for us.”\
Hilliard Bradley 52, Grove City 47
Top-seeded Bradley (22-2) had to dig down deep to fight off pesky Grove City (15-9) and claim its fifth district crown.
There were 11 lead changes and four ties, but Jayden Reed-Davis’ fifth 3-pointer with 2:12 left gave the Jaguars a 48-47 lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Grove City missed two 3-point shots and Jordan Reed-Davis and Kypton Norris made key steals in the final minute to seal the win.
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Jayden Reed-Norris scored a game-high 19 points while Norris added 11 and Jordan Reed-Davis eight for Bradley, which knocked down 11 treys.
Kevin Smith comes up with a critical block against Brody Larrison in the second half as Pickerington Central was able to stretch its lead over Upper Arlington.
“They had a good game plan … we couldn’t find anything because the paint was occupied, so shooting the three became our No. 1 option,” Bradley coach Brett Norris said. “Jayden was huge tonight. He had a stretch of four or five possessions where he was great and absolutely carried us.”
Jacob Saxton and Jairdan Tolliver scored 11 points each for the 12th-seeded Greyhounds.
Newark 54, Gahanna 37
Ty Gilbert scored eight of his 18 points in a decisive third quarter as second-seeded Newark (22-2) overwhelmed Gahanna (17-7) for its 29th district title.
Leading just 24-21 at halftime, the Wildcats outscored the Lions 16-3 in the third period, holding Gahanna to 1-of-8 shooting from the field. Gilbert jump-started the surge with two of his five 3-pointers.
Tybron Brooks matched Gilbert with 18 points and added five assists and Jake Quackenbush chipped in eight points and nine rebounds.
“What we talked about at halftime was to make things harder on them driving to the basket,” Newark coach Jeff Quackenbush said. “We didn’t say much about the offense, just to move the ball and reverse it more. We were getting good fade screens and getting gaps.”
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Reynoldsburg 71, Pickerington North 52
Landon Evans gets trapped by Brody Larrison and Luciano Harrigan. Evans would lead all scorers with 15 as the Tigers advance to the regionals.
Mekhi Roddy led five double-figure scorers for fourth-seeded Reynoldsburg (18-6) with 15 points, but it was the Raiders’ defense that set the tone in a lopsided win over North (9-15) that paved the way to a fifth district title.
“How the kids defend will determine how far we go,” Reynoldsburg coach Andy Moore said. “We didn’t guard anybody earlier in the season when we weren’t very good. I feel like we’re starting to guard people and tonight was an example of that. We took away their transition and gave them one shot.”
Jordie Bowens and Peyton Hooper added 14 points for the 2025 state runner-ups.
Olentangy Berlin 60, Westland 51
Sophomore Luca Filia scored a game-high 29 points and added four assists and four steals, lifting 13th-seeded Berlin (17-7) past 10th-seeded Westland (16-8) at Ohio Dominican for its first district crown.
Antwon Pollard had 16 points, Breaker Heller 14 and Jayden Deedat 12 to pace Westland.
Pickerington Central 47, Upper Arlington 44
Landon Evans scored 15 points and ninth-seeded Pickerington Central (16-8) held off a late charge to defeat seventh-seeded Upper Arlington (16-8) at Ohio Dominican. It marked the 10th district title for the Tigers since 2013 and 13th overall.
Four players topped nine points for Central. Jake Larrison led UA with 13.
Pickerington Central players celebrate their hard-fought district title win at Ohio Dominican.
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