Sometimes, the only way to stop Ben Mirgon from scoring was to foul him, just like Ty Walburn does here. Mirgon scored 19 points in the defensive battle. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
Hilliard Bradley nearly squandered a big fourth quarter lead, but got a great defensive play on the final possession to hold off Olentangy in a regional semifinal. Meanwhile in the other semifinal, Newark dominated the boards and controlled the tempo to capture the rubber match against high-powered Reynoldsburg.
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“The best thing we do is guard the ball,” Jaguars junior guard Ben Mirgon said. “We take pride in the fact that our program is built around our defense. At the end of the day, I’ll take our defense against anyone.”
And at the end of a tense Division I regional semifinal at the Ohio Expo Center’s Taft Coliseum on Wednesday, of course, Bradley’s defense saved the day once again.
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Upstart Olentangy – down nine points in the final two minutes – rallied to within a basket and possessed the ball with 14.5 seconds remaining, but Bradley’s stifling defense came up with a massive stop to preserve a 50-48 win and send the Jaguars into an Elite Eight showdown against Newark at 4:45 p.m. Saturday.
Quentin Page’s heavily-guarded last-second 3-point shot fell about five feet short of its destination. With their season on the line, the Jaguars refused to allow the Braves to advance inside the arc, let alone get a decent look.
“That was a big-time defensive play,” Bradley coach Brett Norris said. “That was kind of apropos of our season right there. We thought we had it won, but some silly turnovers and missed free throws let them right back in the game. But the thing about this team all year long is that we always have a response to adversity. It’s just kind of fitting that, once again, we just found a way.”
Bradley (23-2) led by as many as 11 twice, but Olentangy (21-3) – playing in just its second regional game ever — never stopped fighting.
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Page scored on an inbounds pass under the basket with 29 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to four. Bradley threw the ensuing inbounds pass away and Page promptly nailed a 3-pointer at the 20-second mark to make it 49-48.
Bradley’s Anderson Felix closely guards Ty Walburn as he looks for an open teammate in the waning seconds. He found an also closely guarded Quentin Page, but his 3-point shot was well off the mark. The Jags survived and advanced.
Jayden Reed-Davis hit one of two free throws, setting the stage for the grand finale. Olentangy hadn’t led since it was 2-0.
“We were trying to get guys to come off a screen, but they jumped it and we couldn’t get off a shot,” Braves coach John Feasel said. “They play such good man-to-man defense it was difficult to run a play against them all night. We were down, what, seven with about 1:13 left and just kept battling and battling like this team has done all year, but we couldn’t quite get it done.”
Mirgon scored 19 points, Kypton Norris 13 and Will Mojica added nine (all on 3-pointers) off the bench to pace Bradley, which came in allowing just 44 points per game.
The last time Bradley advanced this far was in 2020 when it beat Walnut Ridge in a semifinal, but while awaiting its regional final game the Ohio High School Athletic Association cancelled the remainder of the season – and subsequently spring sports as well — due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Jaguars dropped their only other regional title game in 2018.
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“I think about that a little bit every day,” Brett Norris said. “Somebody said the other day there’s a little measles outbreak going on just to get under my skin.
Jayden Reed-Davis harasses Olentangy’s Jackson Mangham during the regional semifinal at the Taft Coliseum.
“We’re really excited about this next game. We had a great game before (Bradley won 43-41 at Newark Jan. 31 on a last-second, falling-down shot by Norris) and (Newark coach Jeff Quackenbush) and I talk all the time and have a ton of respect for each other. You always want to be part of a game like that.”
Bradley entered the week ranked No. 3 in MaxPreps’ power poll and Newark was fourth.
Connecticut football signee Jackson Mangham had 17 points to pace Olentangy, which equaled its program record for wins dating to 1954. Standout Ty Walburn added nine – about seven below his average.
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Newark 50, Reynoldsburg 37
Xavier McKinney attempts to block the shot of Jake Quackenbush. McKinney led all scorers with 22 points on the night.
Just like its regional title game opponent, Newark (23-2) turned in a masterful defensive performance to dispose of high-scoring Reynoldsburg in the rubber match between Ohio Capital Conference Buckeye Division rivals. The Wildcats won 66-49 on Jan. 13 before the Raiders (18-7) turned the tables on their home floor 67-50 on Feb. 13 to gain a share of the title.
“We did not play well at their place,” Quackenbush said. “We knew this one was all about getting out to a great start, make sure they’re shooting jumpers instead of letting their skilled guys drive it to the hole, keeping them out of the paint, getting good shots on our end and controlling the boards.”
A 10-0 run midway through the first quarter gave the Wildcats a lead they never relinquished. Another second-half push hiked the lead from five to 15 and allowed Newark secure and keep the tempo.
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Bodie Smith and Jake Quackenbush celebrate after a convincing 50-37 win over the Raiders.
Ty Gilbert had 16 points and five rebounds, Jake Quackenbush 14 points and 10 rebounds and Tybron Brooks 12 points and seven assists to pace Newark.
But here’s the most eye-popping and significant stat of the game: Newark outrebounded Reynoldsburg, boasting two 6-foot-6 Ohio University-bound standouts, by a whopping 37-14 margin.
Reynoldsburg coach Andy Moore was all too aware of the rebounding discrepancy.
“It was hard to breathe out there,” said Moore, who guided his team to a state runner-up finish in 2025. “They did a great job not letting us penetrate. Xavier (McKinney) and Jordie (Bowens) are really talented kids, but I don’t remember anything coming easy for them tonight.
“This was completely different from our last meeting. I think we got in the paint eight of the first 12 possessions and scored on all of them. Tonight, we made a few threes early and it felt so good we kept on shooting them, when our game is supposed to be getting to the hole.”
McKinney scored 22 points to virtually carry the Raiders, who came in scoring 68 points per game against some of the top competition around Ohio. Newark came in yielding just 43.1.
“We came out with a lot of energy tonight and cooled down their fans a little,” Jake Quackenbush said. “This was the total opposite of the last game at their place. We got good shots out of our motion offense, didn’t make many turnovers and really stayed disciplined on the defensive end.”
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