BOYS

Newark boys basketball locks down Reynoldsburg late

Kurt Snyder
Reporter

REYNOLDSBURG - Coach Jeff Quackenbush did not say any magic words Friday.

Newark simply needed to get back to playing the way it did to start the game. The Wildcats ran their offense to a "T" and cleaned up their errors at the defensive end to rally past host Reynoldsburg 56-49 in a Ohio Capital Conference-Ohio Division game. Newark led by as many as 10 in the first half, then had to rally from a 46-39 deficit.

"Stops. We had to get stops," junior forward Kaleb Jarrett said. "It was our defense that would trigger our offense, and that's how we had to play to get stops and make transition offense."

The Wildcats (14-6, 9-4) held the Raiders without a field goal for the final 8:56. The Raiders missed a couple opportunities inside and the Wildcats then forced an inconsistent outside shooting team to misfire from the perimeter.

Leading 52-49 during the final minutes, the Raiders' Mark Fair II missed in the paint. After two Justin Carter free throws, B.J. Duling swatted away Arrington Dulin's putback and then scored in transition at the other end to seal it.

"I think our kids are really focused on the road," said Quackenbush, whose team improved to 9-1 on the road with a trip to Tri-Valley remaining Saturday. "They have a demeanor about them when they play and prior to the game."

Duling missed four times around the rim and the Wildcats committed five of their 12 turnovers during the third quarter.

Fair and Reece Strohm each hit a 3 at the other end to give Reynoldsburg (8-13, 5-8) its largest lead.

"Our kids were trying to get fouled instead of just going and finishing," Quackenbush said. "We have to get used to playing in physical basketball games. In February and early March, games are called a little bit differently. Officials are not going to decide the game. They are going to make you decide it, and the fourth quarter we did a better job of that."

Kobe Long-Weber's 3-pointer started the comeback, and J.T. Shumate added a floater during the final minute of the third quarter. The Wildcats eventually made it a 14-0 run after Duling scored twice around the rim.

Shumate led Newark with 15 points. Duling added 13 and 11 rebounds and Long-Weber 11 points. Newark shot 48 percent.

"We were getting everybody else open and not being selfish," Long-Weber said. "It is a lot easier having B.J. in the paint and him kicking it out for open shots."

Fair II led Reynoldsburg with 15 points. The Raiders shot just 30 percent.

The Wildcats led 8-0 within the first three minutes as Hunter Dennison and Long-Weber each hit a 3 before a Duling basket. Reynoldsburg rallied to lead 14-13 after one quarter, but Shumate scored nine of his points with Jakim Murphy adding four more to give the Wildcats a 34-29 lead at half.

"When we are on the road, it's less pressure on us because we are the underdog," Jarrett said. "Everyone is expected to win at home. It feels better for us when we play on the road."

ksnyder@newarkadvocate.com

740-328-8556

Twitter: @newarkurt

Stat Book

Newark 13-21-8-14 -- 56

Reynoldsburg 14-15-17-3 -- 49

Newark: 21-44 FG, 9-17 FT, 5-11 3pt. (Long-Weber 3, Dennison 1, Shumate 1), 32 Rebounds (Duling 11), 13 Assists (Dennison 6), 12 Turnovers. Scoring: Carter 4 2-3 10, Duling 4 5-11 13, Murphy 2 0-0 4, Long-Weber 4 0-0 11, Dennison 1 0-0 3, Shumate 6 2-3 15.

Reynoldsburg 13-43 FG, 15-17 FT, 4-20 3pt. (Goliday 2, Fair II 1, Strohm 1), 25 Rebounds (Strohm 6), 12 Assists (Goliday 3, Walker 3), 11 Turnovers. Scoring: Goliday 3 0-0 8, Whitehead 0 2-2 2, Walker 1 2-2 4, Bigsby Jr. 2 2-3 6, Fair II 4 6-7 15, Strohm 3 2-2 9, Cooper 1 0-0 2, Dulin 1 1-1 3.