Columbus Academy 62, Bishop Ready 49
Vikings remain undefeated and capture an outright CBL championship
COLUMBUS, OH - As the district tournament selection draw took place on Sunday, it can be natural for teams to let off the gas and shift their focus towards the postseason. Yet for undefeated Columbus Academy, a desire to win an outright Central Buckeye League championship provided plenty of immediate motivation for the Vikings as they entered their second game of the season against a highly capable Bishop Ready team.
Unlike the first outing on January 11, when Academy squeaked out a two-point victory in overtime at home, the Vikings went on the road and were able to have much more of a comfortable finish as they defeated the Silver Knights 62-49, which clinched the league title with one game remaining.
Through the first two quarters, Tuesday’s night game appeared to have the makings of another down-to-the-wire finish as there were five moments of a tied score and each team could only build a lead of up to five, first with Ready at the start of the second quarter and then capped by Academy thanks a Theo Falkenhain teardrop floater at the halftime buzzer.
“We weren’t super sharp execution wise in the first half, we weren’t getting the calls we wanted to and wanted to settle a bit,” Columbus Academy head coach Jeff Warstler said in regard to his team after they held a 24-19 lead at halftime.
That execution, and most notably the pace of the game, changed quickly in the third quarter as the Vikings nearly doubled their first half score throughout the next eight minutes. Academy’s pressure and athleticism forced Ready into a series of turnovers, which led to a plethora of transition points as the Vikings built a double-digit lead that would ballon up to 14 and settled at the 12-point mark headed into the final period. This was also accomplished without any made three-pointers by the Vikings throughout the entire second half.