Dublin Coffman 54, Hilliard Darby 37
The battle-tested Rocks take over in the fourth and move on to the district finals
HILLIARD, OH - One of the marquee storylines of the regular season was the remarkable year-over-year turnaround from Hilliard Darby. With four wins in 2023-24, the Panthers this season flipped their win-loss record and pulled off 19 victories en route towards an outright OCC-Cardinal championship.
Yet on Wednesday, it was an experienced and prepared Dublin Coffman team that put an end to the Panthers’ Cinderella season as the Rocks handily pulled away in front a well-attended Darby home crowd with a 54-37 win to advance to a Division I district final.
“Our league is incredible, I think we’re battle tested and we don’t play our games to be regular season champs, we want tournament hardware,” Dublin Coffman head coach Adam Banks, now in his second season leading the boys varsity team, said after the game.
Although the Rocks finished 3-7 in conference play, the OCC-Central features only Division I teams that includes state ranked Olentangy Orange (#1, according to Martin RPI) and Olentangy Liberty (4). In comparison, the highest ranked Division I Cardinal competitor of Darby was Olentangy (32) as all teams from the division have been eliminated from the playoffs.
The final score did not mirror a game that was competitive throughout three quarters. The first period featured four lead changes and three ties, with continued back-and-forth action that allowed Darby to trail just by three headed into halftime.
While the Rocks continued to have moments where it seemed like they would pull away, the Panthers responded with scrappy defense and attacked the rim to keep the game within reach. Darby junior guard Kade Romine converted a three-point play when he converted an inside finish and drew a foul late in the third to bring the Panthers within four. The Panthers’ momentum was then zapped when Rocks senior guard and Thomas More signee Colin McClure hit a three at the top of the key as the buzzer sounded to push the Rocks lead to seven headed into the fourth.