Newark 66, Reynoldsburg 49
Tybron Brooks and Ty Gilbert lead the 'Cats along with impressive team defense to remain undefeated
Written by 270 Hoops staff writer Greg Glasser
NEWARK, OH - All streaks eventually come to an end. On Tuesday night in a packed Jimmy Allen Gymnasium, the Newark Wildcats led for the final 21 minutes against Reynoldsburg and came out with a 66-49 victory that snapped the Raiders’ 28-game OCC-Buckeye win streak.
A streak still in tact? Newark’s undefeated record, as they remain the sole unbeaten area team in Division I and their win against the Raiders may be their most impressive victory to date.
The ‘Cats took a ten-point halftime lead, but the Raiders would cut it to four on two separate occasions in the third quarter, but a three from Newark junior guard Kolton Peterson, his only make of the game, pushed it back to seven and was arguably the most back-breaking play for the Raiders as the ‘Cats would go on to finish with a 22-12 run.
For such a statement win, it came as a surprise that it was despite Newark’s lead scorer Jake Quackenbush, a 6’5 wing and Thomas More signee, being limited to just seven points on one-of-eight shooting from the floor.
Insert senior guard Ty Gilbert and junior guard Tybron Brooks, who would go on to score 25 and 24 respectively, while shooting a combined 20-for-23 inside the arc. Gilbert added a trio of threes.
“The flow of the game was just coming to me, I was being calm to get my shot where I want,” Gilbert said after the game as he sported a nasty six-inch scratch across his right shoulder, an indicator of the game’s physicality. “But it was a big help with Jake to take up the lanes, which gave us what we want.”
