Highly-ranked Orange finally shakes loose from Newark in Sweet 16
COLUMBUS ― For three quarters, Newark stood toe-to-toe with the Central District's top seed, and Ohio's fourth-ranked Division I boys basketball team.
But the Wildcats finally opened the door for Olentangy Orange ever so slightly Wednesday, and the Pioneers gladly barged through.
Newark missed its first eight shots of the fourth quarter, allowing Orange to complete a 14-0 run and eventually grab a 50-42 regional semifinal win at sold out Ohio Dominican University.
That sets up a much-anticipated showdown: The Pioneers and Delaware Hayes, which overpowered Hilliard Bradley 56-40 in Wednesday's second game, will match 26-1 records at 7 p.m. Saturday to decide a state berth.
However, Newark (22-5) nearly didn't let it happen. The Wildcats led 33-31 after Ethan Stare sank two foul shots with 1:46 left in the third quarter. They were up 33-32, going for the last shot, but took it a bit too early, misfired and Orange's Keegan Knupp hit a tough putback at the buzzer, pushing the Pioneers ahead for good at 34-33.
"It gave us some momentum, and we knew we had to pick up our defense in the fourth quarter to stop them and win the game," said Knupp, a 6-foot 3 junior who guarded Steele Meister most of the way and held him to 5 points, all in the first quarter.
"Newark is a very tough team," Knupp continued. "We knew they had shooters and we had to get out and pressure them, but they surprised us a little with their drives to the basket, especially (Braylon) Morris."
Orange took advantage of Newark's cold spell, bookending a game-clinching 11-0 run with steals and dunks by 5-11 sophomore dynamo Levi Davis and Knupp to go up 44-33. Ty Gilbert finally broke a 10-minute Newark scoring drought with a 3-pointer, and Morris added a couple of more points in the final minute, but it was too late. Overall, Morris turned in a 21-point effort, hitting four 3s and scoring on a variety of moves.
"We knew we had nothing to lose," he said. "We were just going to go out and play as hard as we could and stick to our game plan. We wanted to keep them in the 40s or 50s, and we held them to 50, but we just missed some shots there at the end."
Coach Jeff Quackenbush constantly reminded his team about last year's 64-38 blowout loss to Orange at this same stage, and they took it to heart.
"You can't fault our kids' effort. We didn't have it last year and we didn't show up, but we certainly had it tonight and they really showed up," he said. "All you can ask is a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter, and we had that. We said the first team to get up two possessions would probably win the game, and they did."
It went back and forth for three quarters, with neither team able to take control as the biggest lead was 4 points. That came at the end of the first, when Stare made two free throws and Kalen Winbush tipped in a miss at the buzzer, putting Newark ahead 16-12.
Stare had 5 second-quarter points, scoring on a drive and off an inbounds pass, and Morris canned all three shots after being fouled beyond the arc, giving the Wildcats a 24-22 edge. Morris hit a fadeaway in the lane for a 26-24 lead, but 6-5 Devin Brown worked his way inside for a 26-26 halftime tie.
Another Morris fadeaway put Newark ahead 31-29 midway through the third, but it was the last Wildcat field goal until under a minute remained in the game. However, Newark's defense stayed strong.
"They were good defensively, but so were we," Quackenbush said. "They shot 37% (16 of 43) and we shot 35% (13 of 37). With their length, it was tough to get anything around the basket. They're athletic and they're good, a tough out for anybody."
Knupp scored 14 points, while Davis and Brown added 12 each for the Pioneers. Brown also had 11 rebounds as Orange controlled the rebounding 29-22 and committed just six turnovers. They were 15 of 18 at the line for 83%.
Stare added 9 points in his last game for Newark, a near-perfect 10 of 11 at the stripe, and Gilbert had two assists. Morris was five for five at the line and Stare went five for six.
Meister had only two field goals (one of five on 2s, one of four on 3s), but Quackenbush stressed that should not take away from what the burly 6-3 southpaw has accomplished in his four-year varsity career.
"At times their length bothered him, but he still had 13 rebounds," he said. "With over 1,000 points, back-to-back district titles and a league title, he's had one heck of a career, with a lot of times being the focal point of teams' defense. Our seniors have been great leaders, and I'm so proud of the way our kids consistently represent our community and our school."
Morris, a junior, was thankful for Meister and Stare being his mentors.
"Steele will likely be in the Newark Hall of Fame," he said. "Stare did so much behind the scenes, coaching me up between sophomore and junior, helping me with where I should be from the sidelines."
The 5-11 Morris added ball handling, driving and mid range skills to his already potent 3-point arsenal this season, and Wildcat fans caught a good glimpse of the future with Wednesday starters Morris, Gilbert, Jake Quackenbush and Austin Rose, along with Winbush, all back for 2024-25.
"Braylon was able to handle their pressure and also take it strongly to the basket," coach Quackenbush said. "If he makes the same strides he did this year, he will be hard to handle."
Observed Morris: "It's just having confidence in myself, having the confidence to believe I can beat the man in front of me," he said. "I try to work hard every season, be aggressive and maintain that mentality."
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Highly-ranked Orange finally shakes loose from Newark in Sweet 16
