Olentangy Liberty 59, Upper Arlington 47 (Game Recap + Prospect Scouting Report)
Future Big Ten Bigs battled as the Patriots took control in the final minutes
POWELL, OH - Fresh off the school’s first football state championship five days ago, the Olentangy Liberty boys basketball maintained the high spirits on Home Road as the Patriots defeated Upper Arlington 59-47 in a crucial early OCC-Central bout that was more competitive than the score would indicate.
While the first half was more back-and-forth as Liberty gained a 27-24 advantage after two periods, the second half was defined by runs from both teams. Patriots senior star Tyler Kropp’s four points in the first minute of the third sparked an 11-5 run that would give Liberty an 11-point lead. But just as the Patriots appeared to pull away, the Bears responded with their own 12-1 margin that spanned from the end of the third quarter and tied the game at 43 off a Luke Mitchell lay-in with just under six minutes left in regulation.
The Patriots would regain the lead shortly when senior Christian Moulton, Liberty’s star wide receiver, scored on a steal and breakaway as Liberty would go on to finish the final five minutes on a 16-4 stretch.
“I thought both teams played very hard tonight. We went up, then they went on a run, we got challenged,” Liberty head coach Greg Nossaman said after the game. “They’re a good team, the Smith kid is a handful. It’s a good rivalry and it’s nice to come out on top.”
All the more impressive for Liberty on Wednesday was how they were able to overcome a pesky Golden Bears team despite not having much time as a full unit together. Kropp spent most of the summer overseas with Team Argentina, Moulton and Carson O’Morrow had just three days of practice after they spent the last few months on the gridiron and sophomore big Jeffrey Reynolds is adjusting after he transferred from Bishop Hartley.
“We’re not there yet. We try to develop in the summer and carry that into the fall and winter, but we’re starting from square one here. It’s the first time we’ve played together since March 6” Nossaman said. “Our pieces have been scattered around, but now have to bring everyone together, get better everyday in practice and know everyone will bring their best effort.”
If there was any rust from the Patriots, it may have came in the form of outside shooting, as they hit only two shots from beyond the arc, both in the first quarter. But Nossaman’s team made up for it with mostly balanced production from its starting five and a strong second half from Kropp, a Northwestern signee.
The 6’8 power forward scored 15 of his 21 points in the final two periods and took on the challenge of squaring up against “the Smith kid,” as in Alex Smith, the Upper Arlington 6’9 junior forward who is committed to Ohio State. Liberty junior Parker Van Engelenhoven, a 6’5 forward Louisville baseball commit, added 11 points and six rebounds. Moulton looked as if he hadn’t missed any practice time and scored ten points along with two steals. Senior Nick Butterfield scored nine and Reynolds finished with eight. Both Butterfield and Reynolds added four assists each.
As Nossaman noted, Smith was indeed a handful, as he led all scorers with 22 points in addition to five rebounds, four blocks and three assists. UA junior guard Hayden Henry hit three triples towards his 11 points and Mitchell, a sophomore guard, finished with ten points.
The win for the Patriots (1-1, 1-0) not only gave them an important early win in conference play, but they now have the advantage of extra practice time before they return to action in nine days as they host another conference foe, Hilliard Bradley.
The Golden Bears (2-1, 1-1) also will get nine days off before they take on our top ranked team and defending OCC-Central champion, Olentangy Orange, on the road.
Wednesday night highlighted and delivered an exciting battle between the two future Big 10 players in Kropp and Smith, but there were a few other notable standouts worth highlighting in our Prospect Scouting Report below.