COLUMBUS, Ohio -- After rolling through December and January with 16-straight wins, Pickerington North finds itself losers of its last two. Hosting Dublin Jerome on its senior night on Tuesday, Pickerington North (17-4) trailed for all 32 minutes as the visiting Celtics (12-8) executed to perfection in a 48-42 upset victory.

Slowing down the Pickerington North offense with a 2-3 zone that hampered what the Panthers were looking to do, Dublin Jerome used its size and strength to limit North to a litany of one-and-done possessions by hitting the defensive glass hard.

On the offensive end, the Celtics were patient and disciplined, running through its sets to get good looks against one of the state's top defensive units. Holding a 21-15 halftime lead, Dublin Jerome was not fazed by increased pressure from North in the second half.

Senior point guard Lucas House handled the press with ease, getting Jerome into its sets and not allowing Pickerington North to take advantage of turnovers. Limiting second-chance opportunities in the second half from the Panthers, Jerome put the game away in the fourth quarter by sinking 14-of-16 attempts at the line.

Junior guard Joey Pickering led the Celtics with 14 points, while senior center Andrew Golda had one of his better performances against a mammoth front line for the Panthers, finishing with 10 points. House and junior forward Trey Ballengee each added nine points.

For North, senior Jerome Hunter led the way with 15 points. Coming into Tuesday, Dublin Jerome's gameplan was to let Hunter do what he does while shutting everyone else down and the Celtics seemed to do that, as senior guard Ty Wiley (10 points) was the only other Pick North player to score more than five points.

At 12-8, Dublin Jerome is rounding into form heading into the district tournament. Winning five of its last seven games, Jerome has to believe in itself against any opponent after taking down state-ranked Pick North on the road.

Falling to 17-4, Pickerington North, who received the No. 1 seed in the district, ends its regular season on the road at Grove City on Friday. Facing some adversity late in the season, it will be interesting to see how North responds from this going forward.

By Luke Stacy

In the first of two matchups between these teams this week, Hilliard Bradley pulled out the road win in front of a hostile Hilliard Darby crowd. 

Darby led 10-9 after the first quarter, 23-19 at halftime, and 33-30 at the end of the third, but in the fourth Bradley took over and led 38-35 with four minutes left.

In classic Darby fashion, the Panthers refused to give up.

Shaky free throw shooting by Bradley and a couple tough finishes inside by Darby tied the game up at 44 at the end of regulation.

Neither team could get much separation in overtime and with Darby up one with 30 seconds left, freshman Andrew Patrick went to the free throw line. He made the first but missed the second and on the ensuing possession, senior point guard Braden Norris hit a three with 13 seconds left to seal the win for the Jaguars.

In just his second game back from a broken foot suffered in December, Norris had 29 points to help Bradley escape the upset. Providing the type of instant offense that Bradley desperately needs, Norris has this team looking like a legitimate regional title threat.

With Norris providing the bulk of Bradley's offense and then some, sophomore guard Matt Allocco added nine points, while senior forward Isaiah Speelman pitched in seven. 

Leading the way for Hilliard Darby was junior point guard Jaeln Benjamin who had 11 points, while senior Chandler Barlow also scored 11.

Despite the loss, Darby became the first Ohio team to score more than 50 points against a vaunted Bradley defense this season. 

With Tuesday's game being a makeup of the first matchup which was delayed due to snow, Bradley and Darby will square off again in Jaguar Country on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Check out Norris' game-winning three below